The Onigiri Slayer
by Silver Sparklze
Summary: BTVSFuruba X Over! When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet. Not MomijiTohru
1. Prologue

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Mizuno Kyoko.

Author's Notes: Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only. Later in the story there will be some manga stuff coming in, but since I haven't actually read ALL the manga, it won't be so much that you have to read them to get it.

--------------------------

Dawn was doing her homework at her favourite little cafe in Rome, enjoying a cappuccino and the warm afternoon sunshine. She liked Italy, it was so nice and hot here. Much better than Cleveland, where she'd spent two shivering months with Buffy, before the pair decided to go somewhere warmer.

Then, after two days of sisterly bonding, Buffy met the Immortal. It hadn't lasted long, but while it did, Buffy had no time for her younger, normal (she wished!) sister. That betrayal still stung, three months later, and while she and Buffy didn't fight, per se, they rarely had anything to do with one another, either. The last words Buffy had spoken to her were two days ago, and they were "we need bread."

Shoving the hurt down with the last of her milky coffee, Dawn tried to figure out where X came into her maths equation.

Her mind had just about gripped the answer, when her phone rang, shattering her concentration.

"Bloody hell-Ciao, Dawn Summers."

"Dawn, you need to get back here right away, ok? See you soon." Buffy hung up.

"Wait-" Snapping her phone shut, Dawn gathered her things. "[1**Stupida Buffy! Sempre a comandarmi in giro!**" she grumbled, throwing a few _lire_ on the table to cover her cappuccino and stalking home.

----------------------

It was a quick five-minute walk to the apartment she and Buffy shared. She quickly unlocked the door, dumping her keys and wallet in the crystal bowl by the door.

"I'm home!" she called.

"In here." Buffy's voice floated to her from the lounge.

Moving from the hall to the lounge room was pretty easy, the whole house was open plan, except for the bedrooms and bathrooms (they had two, both Dawn and Buffy had learned their lesson when it came to not enough bathrooms), it was as simple as crossing the archway to the cosy cream and peppermint themed lounge.

"You rang?" she said sarcastically.

Buffy was sitting on one of the pale green couches, opposite her a woman in a kimono, sipping tea.

Dawn groaned. Oh, she knew what this meant. "Who's in Japan?" she asked wearily.

"You should well ask," the woman approved. "Greetings, Dawn Summers. My name is Mizuno Kyoko; I am a former Watcher from Tokyo. It has recently come to your Witch, Willow Rosenberg's attention that there is a Slayer there. I would take her on myself, but for the fact I retired when Quentin Travers took over. I have no wish to return, having a family of my own now. But someone needs to look after her."

"Why me?" Dawn whinged.

"Because you speak fluent Japanese, and are still young enough to pass as a school student. The girl in question is a senior at her high school, so it is essential that you be able to blend in." Kyoko smiled thinly. "And before you ask, the position of Librarian is filled. This girl...she can act in a rather odd manner, so it will be your job to get close to her, and find out why it is she acts the way she does." Kyoko passed over a thick sheaf of files.

"Oh, all right." As reluctant as she sounded, she was rather excited. Not only was this a chance to explore a new country and culture, but this would be her first solo job (her first job at all, sure, she was Watching Buffy, but Buffy was her sister, and quite capable of taking care of herself, really.) "What's the Slayer's name?"

"Tohru Honda."

End Prologue

[1Stupida Buffy! Sempre a comandarmi in giro: Stupid Buffy, always ordering me around.


	2. Chapter 1

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Mizuno Kyoko.

Author's Notes: Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.  
** I COULD write the conversations in Japanese, and translate them for you, but, frankly, that's tiring for both me, as the writer, and you, as the reader (yes I am aware that that sentence is grammatically incorrect). So I won't. If you REALLY want to know the Japanese, ask, and if I'm not too lazy, I'll tell you.**

--------------------------

It had been a long flight, but Dawn had barely noticed, being in First Class, and completely wrapped up in studying the notes on Tohru Honda.

Apparently, she was female. Well _duh_, she was a Slayer! She lived in a house with three guys, two of whom were her classmates, but was single. Hmmm…that sounded like a Slayer, too; unlucky in love. She worked at a company owned by the Sohma family – she was living with Sohmas, too, interesting…– to pay her school fees. Well, they could help with that, it was one of the things the Council did now, paid all school fees of the Slayers, as well as a lot of other stuff within reason.

Her grades were average, but she was involved in lots of extra curricular activities, and was considered the nicest person at school by everyone except for a bunch of psychos who belonged to The Prince Yuki Fanclub, and babbled on about her and her denpa friend being wicked witches...whatever. She'd had Willow check this thing out. No witches, although there was, apparently, a heck of a lot of spirits, and a few people with magicky-like powers, who WEREN'T witches or warlocks, but no actual wicked witches at all.

In fact, the document noted that aside from your garden variety Vampire, there was really nothing in Tokyo at all for the Slayer. It _was_ a hellmouth, but an inactive one, one that slept more soundly than Sunnydale ever did. It was so quiet, that Dawn wondered why the Council had decided to keep a Slayer there at all, since she didn't appear to be staying with her family.

A notation on the next page answered her question. Apparently, the Sohmas were a very influential family. Moving her would cause a fuss, and the Sohmas were generous donators in the old Council. Giles rather hoped they would continue to donate.

"Attention passengers, we will shortly be arriving in Japan, so please return your seats to an upright position and stow your trays before landing. The current time is 4:30 pm on Sunday the 20th of May. The temperature is a balmy 20 degrees Celsius, so unpack those summer clothes first! Thank you for flying _Air Japan_, I hope you enjoy your stay. And to those of you for whom this is the last leg of your journey; welcome home."

The speech repeated itself in Italian and Japanese, but Dawn was no longer listening, busy packing her unread novel back into her briefcase, along with the sheaf of notes on Tohru Honda, and, of course, the ever-important _Vampyre_. She'd best do some research on the people Tohru lived with. Generous or not, if they were endangering her Slayer's life or soul...well, Dawn wasn't the younger sister of a 'violence first, questions later' Slayer for nothing.

One mystery the papers didn't explain was why Tohru didn't live with her relatives. Both parents were dead, but, at the very least, her paternal grandfather was alive, as was her paternal aunt, uncle and cousin.

Snapping her briefcase shut and stowing it under the seat in front of her, Dawn decided to approach the cousin. Apparently, she was only a few years older than Tohru, and would probably be quite happy to talk. If that didn't work, then the grandfather as probably the best bet.

Since business class passengers disembarked first, Dawn was soon out of customs (thankful that she'd disguised the knives in her bag with her magick), and in the Arrivals lounge.

It _was_ nice in Japan, and Dawn's light navy business suit felt cool and comfortable, much to her relief. She had been afraid, after the warmth of Italy, that she would be cold. The welcome sign above the clear doors leading out into bustling Tokyo was bright and colourful; it's message encouraging. **Yookoso**...well, she certainly hoped so.

A little anxiously, she scanned the milling people. Standing off to one side was a slender girl, holding a sign with DAWN SUMMERS written on it in block letters.

Shouldering her bag (she'd shipped all the things she'd need, clothes, books and weapons - properly spelled to look like more books - ahead of her, so as to eradicate unnecessary baggage. If all had gone well, they would be sitting at her new apartment, waiting for her.), Dawn made her way over to the girl, smiling pleasantly.

"(Hello!)" the girl said cheerfully. "(Are you Dawn Summers?)"

"(Yes, that's me. Um...what is your name?)"

"(My name's Takanawa Haruhi.)"

"(It's nice to meet you.)" Dawn bowed quickly.

"(It's nice to meet you, too,)" Haruhi echoed, bowing back. "Do...do you mind if I speak English? I want to practice my English."

"Sure, that's fine." Dawn reverted back to her native language, slightly relieved. Plenty of time to speak Japanese later, and while languages were her talent, she still felt awkward. "My Japanese isn't the best, anyway."

"No! You are fluent!"

"Oh, thank you, but I'm not. You're much better than I at speaking a foreign language." Etiquette demanded this tête-à-tête of compliments, but Dawn knew they could exchange them all day if she didn't change the subject. "Do I need to rent a car while I'm in Japan?"

"That would be a good idea. Your apartment is within walking distance of the Slayer's home, school, and where she works, but a car will likely be a good investment."

"Hmm..." Dawn thought for a moment. "Perhaps it would be better to buy one. I don't know how long I'm going to be here."

"That would be a very good idea. You might want to buy a bicycle, too. It's a common way that young people in Japan get around. Oh! And there is something I must tell you. We secured you a job on the same floor as your Slayer where she works, on the same shift. You begin tomorrow."

"Cool! What time?"

"Um...about five. Half an hour before your Slayer does."

"Good."

Dawn stepped up to the _1st For Car Rental_ booth, efficiently dealing with the rentalist in Japanese and managing to get a fairly good car. Even if she was only going to have it for a few days until she could buy one, she didn't want to be stuck with a junk bucket.

She headed back over to Haruhi, keys in hand. "In that case, I suppose it is time I set up my apartment. Will you stop by my house tomorrow to show me how to get to my new place of work?"

"Yes, Dawn, I can do that. Shall I direct you to your new home?"

"Please. Do you want to drive?"

"Oh, no, I don't need to do that!"

Raising an eyebrow, Dawn shook her head. "Sure...let's go."

End Chapter 1

**Yookoso**: Japanese for "welcome". 


	3. Chapter 2

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Mizuno Kyoko.

Author's Note: Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

As we are not given the name of Tohru's cousin in the anime, and I am basing this story on the anime, not the manga, I have made up a name. Since Tohru's aunt would have married someone who wasn't a Honda, I gave her a different last name, too. If anyone knows the actual name of Tohru's paternal family, don't hesitate to tell me.

Unless otherwise noted, assume the conversations are in Japanese.

----------------------

"Um...excuse me, who are you?"

Dawn pushed damp strands of her hair back from her face, and looked up at the girl standing before her. "My name is Dawn Summers. What's yours?" She had a fair idea, though. After all, a picture of Tohru Honda had been included in the file.

"Tohru Honda. What are you doing here?" Her teal eyes were curious.

Dawn smiled. "I work here."

"Me too!" Tohru clapped her hands happily.

"Cool." Dawn got up. "Uh...can you train me a little? The Sohmas seem to have the wrong idea about how much I can handle." She shrugged sheepishly.

"Sure! That's fine, I don't have that much to do today, anyway, since you've already done quite a bit of the rubbish pick up. Oh! That's not to say I'm not grateful, I am, it's just usually a part of my job, and-"

"Thank you," Dawn interrupted the babble kindly. Goddess, this Slayer reminded her so much of Willow.

"Right, so the mops and buckets are this way. Oh! And you have to use the measuring scoop for the disinfectant..."

----------------------

The next morning, Dawn, clad in a formal business suit, walked briskly to Tohru's former house, where her family still resided. A soft knock on the door produced a rather irritable young woman a little older than Dawn.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

Dawn bit her lip. The words were right, polite and considerate, but the tone was insolent.

"Are you Naoko Yamada?" she queried, her Japanese tinged with a crisp British accent, checking her clipboard officiously. She wanted to seem important.

"Yes..." Slowly, the attitude was changing, as Naoko wondered if Dawn was someone to impress.

"Good. My name is Summer Giles, I work for the Watcher's Council's Japanese Branch. I want to talk to you about your cousin, Tohru Honda. It's of some importance, as we wish to solve the mix-up quickly. Do you mind answering a few questions?"

She made her way into the house, displaying bureaucratic arrogance that she would be welcome. (Granted, she didn't think she was, but the character she had assumed _did_.)

"Uh...okay, why not." The dark-haired girl led the way to the lounge, gesturing for Dawn to make herself comfortable. "What did you want to ask?" She sat down across from Dawn.

"Firstly, is there any especial reason why your cousin Miss Honda is not currently residing here?" Dawn poised her pen over a sheet of fresh paper.

"Well-" Naoko's face lit up with nasty delight. "She was living with _three men_ while Grandpa's house was being renovated. Then she came back - wanted to share a room with ME - and supposed everything would be fine and dandy."

"But it wasn't?"

"Of course not! Mum found out about her living with those men, and confronted her. Dad all but called her a whore."

Dawn felt anger shudder through her, but kept it to herself. "What happened then?" she coaxed, using the same tone she had to wheedle information out of countless Slayers in the past.

"We confronted her about it, duh! She totally denied the entire thing, and Grandpa went nuts and smacked Dad across the face. Then Tohru did this entire babble confession about how she wanted to stay with the Sohmas - guess she really _did_ have fun there - and then the Sohma boys who were in her class let themselves in and took her away." The teen's eyes gleamed with malice.

Dawn stood. "Thank you very much for your time," she said steadily, restraining the urge to slap Naoko hard across the face. "You've been most helpful."

"Hey, wait," Naoko called out as Dawn turned to leave. "Why did you want to know? What does this Watcher's Council do?"

"It's a bit late to be asking that now," Dawn pointed out, smiling coldly. "But I'll tell you. We provide scholarships and unique education for girls who attract our interest, girls with something to add to society. Your cousin Miss Honda is one of those girls."

"What's so special about _her_?"

"She's strong." With that, Dawn left.

----------------------

Haruhi had done very well. All of Dawn's shifts were the same as Tohru's, and while the money wasn't needed, since her Watcher salary was more than generous, it was appreciated. She used it mainly to buy the school uniform and books she would need for her senior year.

It was in this manner that the next ten days passed. Dawn got to know Tohru fairly well, got to know that apologetic babble was an intrinsic part of Tohru's character, got to know the girl's amazing honesty and upright morals. She truly was a wonder, an innocent that had somehow been protected amongst the harshness of the world.

In the instant she realised that, she very much hated her sister and Willow. Hated them for being the ones responsible for this; for her, Dawn, having to etch away at that innocence, and turn such a gentle girl into a hardened warrior.

And yet...she wanted to do it, too. The innocence in Tohru was so pure, she felt sure it would not tarnish. Unlike Willow's, which had been sullied by the Hellmouth, and Buffy's, which had suffered from family problems, Tohru was free of these. Yes, she'd had sadness, but the Sohmas seemed like wonderful people - nothing she'd unearthed said otherwise...although that Akito seemed a little suspect - and somehow, she knew Tohru would balance Xena and Gabriel perfectly.

So, she told her. On that last day before school went back, she walked her home in the dark, taking the opportunity since the handsome young men who glared at her so fiercely were busy with their own things tonight.

"Tohru...I haven't been completely honest with you."

"Hmm?" Those teal eyes glazed with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"About the reason I'm here." Dawn sighed, tilting her head to look at the stars. "Do you have to be home right away?"

"Well...no, but I do have to sleep before tomorrow. Oh! That's not to say I don't want to talk to you, or think what you need to say is important, it's just-"

"Tohru, I know," she interrupted quickly. "Look, I'll try not to keep you too long, but I'm always hungry after a shift, aren't you?"

"Kind of...but I don't have any money."

"My treat, _no arguing_," she pre-empted Tohru's objection. "I think you'll need some sugar to hear this story."

They stopped at one of those midnight munchy places all over Tokyo - all over every big city and many small ones - and sat down. Dawn ordered American style pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream, as well as Japanese tea. A perfect blending of the two cultures, she felt.

"Tohru...a few months ago, did you hear someone whisper to you in your mind _'Are you ready to be strong'_? It's really important that you answer honestly," Dawn leaned forward over the table. It was rather odd that she'd never seen Tohru break anything, like most new Slayers did. And she seemed fairly clumsy too; distinctly lacking the innate grace displayed by all Slayers she'd ever met.

"Oh, yes, how did you know?" the Japanese girl's brow furrowed. "I never told anyone..."

"I knew because...well, because I had something to do with it." Dawn sighed. There was nothing for it; Tohru was definitely a Slayer. "Not directly, it was my sister and a friend who _actually_ did it, thinking of the spell and everything, but I'm here because of it..."

"Maybe you should begin at the beginning. It's as good a place as any to start," Tohru suggested, smiling.

Laughing, Dawn hummed a few bars of Doe Ray Mi. "Well, okay. _The world is older than people believe_..."

End Chapter 2


	4. Chapter 3

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Mizuno Kyoko.

Author's Note: Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

As we are not given the name of Tohru's cousin in the anime, and I am basing this story on the anime, not the manga, I have made up a name. Since Tohru's aunt would have married someone who wasn't a Honda, I gave her a different last name, too. If anyone knows the actual name of Tohru's paternal family, don't hesitate to tell me.

Unless otherwise noted, assume the conversations are in Japanese.

----------------------

Tohru sat across from her, a frown furrowing her brow once again. "Well...it's certainly surprising..."

But she didn't really sound that surprised, and Dawn said so.

A small smile flickered on the Slayer's face. "I've had some experiences in the past that have...have been almost as odd. I suppose I can't really discount anything. And I _have_ felt stronger of late. Usually I'm very tired and sick around now...with the usual things, a combination of end of year and holiday work. But ever since New Years I've been-"

"Perfectly healthy?"

"Well, yes. Not even a headache, and I usually have many of those."

"You're getting that checked out." The pain of her mom's death stabbed Dawn in the belly. "But anyway...usually you'd end up breaking things as well, due to unexpected strength. You haven't been doing that, I assume?" She raised one eyebrow.

"Oh, no, I have. I'm just very careful at work, always have been. At home, I tend to run roughshod, and I've broken many things. Luckily, I'm usually able to fix them, I don't want anyone to get angry at me, and Shigure might be upset if I broke his things..."

"That's something which concerns me..." The conversation with Tohru's cousin was burned into Dawn's mind. "Why is it that you don't live with your family? Why do you live with the Sohmas?"

"How did you know about that? I didn't tell you." Tohru was avoiding the question, not very skilfully. That would likely change with time, Slayers had to be able to divert people's attention from the truth to do their job correctly.

Dawn removed the file on Tohru from her backpack, placing it in front of the blue-eyed girl. "I read this," she said softly. "It just tells me the facts, though. Paper and ink can't give me your side of the story, or your emotions. Would you mind telling me?"

Slowly, Tohru picked up the folder, and flicked it open. Her teal eyes scanned the first page, before she shut it again. "Would you mind if I took this, and thought about things a little? I just...it's all very sudden..."

"Sure." Dawn took the last bite of her pancakes. "I guess we should get you home, it's late."

"I'll be fine, you don't have to...OH! I don't mean that I don't want you to, it's just that you're probably busy, and you've already bought me a snack, and-"

"Tohru, don't worry," Dawn laughed. "If I take offence to anything you say, I'll tell you. There's no need to constantly apologise." Dawn placed the required yen on the table and stood. "I'm quite happy to talk to you, and walk you home, and buy you things. You're such a sweet person, and you make life so nice for everyone around you. The least I can do is return the favour."

The girls were silent on the walk to Tohru's, both lost in their own thoughts. Tohru was busy trying to decide where being a Slayer fit into her life, and Dawn was wondering how to tell Tohru about the scholarship she would receive, just for what she was. Finally, they reached the traditional Japanese home, and halted in front of the door.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Dawn said eventually, giving the surprised girl a hug. "Remember," she whispered in Tohru's ear, "you _don't_ have to be a Slayer. I'll still need to train you, but you _do_ have a choice. And no matter what you choose, I'll still be your friend."

"Th-thank you...what do you mean, you'll see me tomorrow? I'm not working tomorrow..." Hesitantly, Tohru returned the hug.

Dawn smiled faintly. "I'm still in High School, Tohru. Where else would I go? At least at Kaibara High I'll know someone...I'll have a friend. In any case, we both have to be up early in the morning. See you." With a wave, she made her way back towards the glittering lights of the city.

----------------------

Dawn got to school early, an easy thing since she lived only a five-minute walk away. As such, she was already in her seat (next to Tohru, someone had conveniently been transferred into 1-A), by the time Kyo, Yuki and Tohru arrived.

"Hi, Dawn!" Tohru said cheerfully.

"What's _she_ doing here?!" Kyo exclaimed upon seeing Dawn sitting in the seat next to Tohru's.

"Waiting for class to begin," answered the green-eyed teen calmly, looking Kyo dead in the eyes. "Do you dye your hair?"

"What?! Of course not! Why did you ask that?!"

"Because I thought all Japanese people had black hair. Just goes to show, doesn't it."

"What do you mean, Miss Summers?" Yuki asked.

"Well, I obviously need to be here, I've got so much to learn." Dawn smiled brightly.

"Well, she's got you there, Kyon-Kyon," a tall blonde chuckled huskily.

"Don't call me Kyon-Kyon!"

The blonde ignored him. "I'm Arisa Uotani," she introduced herself, bowing slightly.

Dawn stood so she could return the bow. "Dawn Summers. It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too. Please ignore Kyon-Kyon, we're not _all_ like that."

"Dammit Uotani DON'T call me Kyon-Kyon!"

"Ah, Tohru, you had a pleasant winter break, I trust? Your electric waves have changed...what have you been doing?" A calm voice reminded Dawn of Oz, and she turned to look at the dark haired speaker. _Finally_, someone who matched the Key's preconception of what a Japanese person looked like.

"Hana, hi..." Tohru greeted the newcomer, flustered. "Uh...Dawn this is Saki Hanajima. Hana, this is Dawn Summers. She transferred here from America."

"Yes...Dawn is it? Your waves are green, very calming." Saki - Dawn just couldn't get used to the Japanese custom of calling people by their last names - said.

"Um thanks, I think." Dawn smiled brightly.

Further discussion was delayed when the teacher arrived. "Good morning, everyone. Welcome back."

"Good morning Miss Shiraki," the students chorused.

Miss Shiraki smiled at them all. "I'm sure you all had a wonderful break, so we won't speak of it anymore. Now, here are your new timetables..."

Dawn stopped fully listening, a small part of her still listening and taking in everything the teacher said. It had begun to rain, which was a little disappointing. She wasn't fond of the rain.

----------------------

At lunchtime, Dawn sat by herself in the cafeteria. Tohru and her friends were sitting at another table, but she wasn't yet accepted enough to join them. After eating, she watched Tohru stand and leave, obviously going to pay off some of her school fees, as she did at the beginning of every term. Sighing, Dawn settled down to wait.

Fifteen minutes later, a young girl with flushed cheeks and bright eyes stormed into the cafeteria. BANG! went the doors as she stalked in, and all chatter suddenly ceased, as everyone watched the furious Tohru Honda cross the floor to where Dawn stood.

Instinctively, the people in her way moved, their souls responding to the irate Slayer without them even realising it. Her friends were shocked; obviously they had never seen Tohru in a rage before. Dawn stood; she knew what was coming next.

SMACK! The slap Tohru delivered to Dawn's face had the full strength of an angry Slayer behind it, and left a mark immediately. Any ordinary Watcher would have been sent flying, but Dawn was made from the Last True Slayer, and had cultivated the extra strength in her blood with her magick consciously since the first Slayers In Training came to live with them that fateful Christmas. She stood her ground, and knew that by the evening, the mark would bruise, but by noon tomorrow would be nothing but a memory.

"You paid my fees?!" Tohru shrieked.

"Yes," Dawn replied softly. "It's called the Calendar Scholarship. Every Slayer receives it."

Tohru wasn't listening, her blue-green eyes flashing. Only Dawn was close enough to see the fear in those shimmering orbs, and knew Tohru had never lost her temper like this, and was scared of what she might do.

Without warning, Tohru's fist was heading for Dawn's face. Calmly, the Key caught it, and, twisting her arm and inserting her foot behind Tohru's, sent the girl tumbling to the ground.

"Miss Honda! Miss Summers! WHAT do you think you are doing?!" Miss Shiraki, who was on duty, yelled.

"We're discussing something." Dawn's eyes warned Miss Shiraki to stay out of it, and the millennia old Key had the woman backing up without quite knowing what she was doing.

"Take it outside, then!"

"Very well." Effortlessly, Dawn hauled Tohru to her feet. "Let's go, Tohru. We have much to discuss."

"Now just wait a minute!" Kyo yelled, standing.

"No," Saki said, pulling Kyo back down. "Let them go. This is important."

"What could they possibly have to say to one another?" Yuki asked, his voice trembling with anger. "Miss Summers just threw Miss Honda to the ground."

"Tohru attacked her, first," Arisa said, her voice full of surprise. "Dawn was...just protecting herself..."

And so they watched the pair leave, Dawn whispering something in Tohru's ear, the hand mark livid on her pale face.

End Chapter 3


	5. Chapter 4

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Mizuno Kyoko.

Author's Note: Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

Unless otherwise noted, assume the conversations are in Japanese.

----------------------

"Oh my goodness, Dawn, I am so sorry!" Tohru exclaimed as soon as they were seated in the wet courtyard, their coats a barrier between the wet cement bench and their skirts. "I can't believe I did that, I shouldn't have, I had no right, just because I was angry-" 

"You lost your temper, Tohru. It happens, I wouldn't worry about it." Dawn said calmly.

"B-but I hit you!"

"Like I said, it happens. So, I accept your apology and you're forgiven." Dawn smiled at her kindly. "Now, you're angry because I paid your school fees and expenses for the year, correct?"

"Yes! I'm not a charity student, I can pay my own way, I have since Mum died. Not that I'm not grateful, but I don't _need_ it!"

"Regardless, I didn't do it because I thought you couldn't pay your own way, or because I'm charitable. You're a Slayer, and…as a Slayer, you're entitled to certain things." Dawn rubbed her forehead. How to explain this in a way that would make sense?

"One of those is paid-for education, including the university of your choice. If you get an average of 70 on all work and exams in your senior year, the Council also guarantees a scholarship to the university you choose, to lighten the load even further. There's also a subsidy for clothing, weapons, and a 24-hour hotline for support. If you ever face an evil you can't defeat on your own, any of your Sister Slayers will be there to help you. Similarly, you may be called on to help others with their apocalypses."

It was obvious that Tohru was confused.

"Look, here's a pamphlet." Dawn handed the Slayer two, one written in Japanese, one in English. "Try to understand the English one, first, I noticed you're not doing so well in that class. Then use the Japanese to help you with the complicated bits, m'kay?"

"O-okay…uh…I have your file." Tohru dug it out of her bag. "I didn't understand a lot of it…but…I've decided I want to try. I want to see what being the Slayer will do for me."

The American girl took the manila folder, relieved. Thank goodness she hadn't been rejected out of hand.

The bell rang, signalling the end of lunch.

"I have...English." Tohru's tone indicated surprise as she looked at her schedule.

"So do I." Dawn stood, and helped Tohru to her feet. "Would we be able to meet this afternoon after school? I need to begin training you to moderate your strength as soon as possible, or we'll have Incidents worse than a broken washing basket."

Tohru giggled nervously. "Umm...okay, sure. Uo and Hana have things first day, Yuki has a meeting for the council, and Kyo has training, so we can do it at my house, if you like. It's more convenient. Oh! I didn't mean your place wouldn't be nice, too, I haven't even been there, so it might be great, and you might prefer to-"

Dawn, tired of apologetic Willow!babble, had muffled Tohru with her hand. "Forget it, Tohru. I'm not insulted." Her green eyes twinkled. "Believe me, I'm a lot more thick-skinned than that, and I think training at your house is a good idea."

"Mmph." Tohru nodded.

"Good, let's get to class."

----------------------

"I'm home!" Tohru called, stepping inside.

Dawn trailed after her, leaving her umbrella by the door.

"Tohru! My little flower is home at last!" a man cried flamboyantly, stepping out of a room to one side. "Home to prepare one of her delicious meals to sustain us! How was your first day back?"

"It's nice to see you, too, Shigure." Tohru giggled.

Dawn hadn't even blinked at the man's rather interesting conversation. Granted, he was very different from Yuki and Kyo, but his comments were a sight better than Faith, and Faith flirted without intent. Her inner girl told her this dude did, too.

"And you brought home a friend! A blossom of the most exotic proportions."

"Dawn Summers." Dawn bowed. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Sohma."

"Please, call me Shigure, Mr. Sohma makes me feel old."

Dawn smiled charmingly. "Of course, but only if you call me Dawn."

"Such a polite girl! Tohru, you do know how to pick them!"

"Uh huh! Dawn came over to...uh..."

"Help her study," the Key cut in smoothly. "We have an assignment due for English, and since it's my native language..." She shrugged nonchalantly.

"We're going to work in the back garden where it's quiet." Tohru put in. "Would you like some tea before we begin?"

"Yes, that would be wonderful. Some of Tohru's tea to revive my exhausted muse, and encourage her to push me on the way to fruition of my book."

"Okay, I'll bring you some. Dawn, the garden is through that door, would you like to set up?"

"Sure." The slender American made her way out. Luckily, the sun had broken free of the grey clouds that afternoon, drying the grass and allowing the sweet smell of spring to hang in the air. Dawn took copious breaths as she dumped her bag on the ground and took out her Discman and a set of speakers. A CD of rainforest sounds was slipped inside, and she sat down on the grass, waiting for Tohru.

"Sorry." Tohru's tiny frame dropped onto the grass beside her. "What are we doing?"

"Well, ordinarily we'd have you breaking objects, experimenting with the amount of pressure you can place on each object before it breaks. Instead..." Dawn took an egg carton from her pack. "We're going to toss these back and forth. Fresh eggs. When you can catch one gently enough that it doesn't break, and throw one softly enough that I can catch it, then we'll move onto meditation."

"Uh...okay." Tohru's tone said the thought it was a little weird, but she shrugged, standing up.

Gently, Dawn lobbed the first egg to Tohru. The Japanese girl grasped at it, and Crack! yellow yoke oozed through her clenched fingers.

"Darn..." She picked up another egg, practically pelting it at Dawn.

Calmly, the Key ducked. "Careful," she chided as the raw egg splattered on the grass.

Half an hour and three dozen eggs later, Tohru and Dawn were playing a complicated game which involved throwing two eggs to one another, spinning after each throw and catching the next relay. It was at this that Kyo and Yuki found them.

Both boys stood there, dumbstruck. They made a formidable team, hair and skirts flaring gracefully with each movement. Dawn's emerald eyes shone with the laughter on Tohru's face.

"_Damn_."

With a final flourish, Dawn caught the eggs, juggled them briefly, and put them back in the box. It looked like meditation would have to wait. "Scrambled eggs for me tonight." She grinned, hoping there wouldn't be any questions about what they'd been doing. "Hey Yuki, Kyo." She whistled at the darkening sky. "Gee, I should head off."

"Stay for dinner," Tohru entreated.

"Sure, why not? I was just gonna make a mess anyways." Dawn scooped up all her things and placed them in her bag. "Thanks, Tohru."

Dinner was a simple affair that Dawn helped make, since the green-eyed girl had kept Tohru occupied. A delicious miso soup with onigiri and tempura. As it was, Dawn was no mean slouch in the kitchen, either, even if she did like to experiment with odd tastes. The conversation was meaningless chatter, until Shigure asked how Dawn and Tohru met.

"Oh, that's easy." Dawn concentrated on her soup. "I work with her."

"Yeah! She started just before school," Tohru piped up helpfully. "I trained her, she walked me home a few times, and then it turns out she's enrolling at my school."

"Quite the coinkydink." Dawn offered weakly, unfortunately in English.

Tohru, Kyo and Yuki looked at her blankly. Shigure's dark eyes narrowed in contemplation, then he smiled genially, sipping his tea.

"Yes, it is indeed," he replied in Japanese.

Dawn smiled her 'Appeasement of Authority "Aren't I A Little Silly?"' smile. "I do apologise for my rudeness," she said to her classmates. "I said it was a strange coincidence."

"It is." Tohru beamed back, collecting the dishes.

"And on that note, I'd better leave. I prefer not to wander the streets in the dark if I can help it." She'd be patrolling before she went home, but they didn't need to know that. "See ya, Tohr." She purposely abbreviated the Slayer's name to demonstrate her affection, since hugs weren't really permissible in public just yet. Maybe in a few weeks.

"Bye, Dawn!" Tohru headed into the kitchen to clean up.

Nodding politely to the others, she made the rest of her farewells and headed for the city.

End Chapter 4


	6. Chapter 5

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Mizuno Kyoko, and the vamps, lol.

Author's Note: Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

Unless otherwise noted, assume the conversations are in Japanese.

----------------------

"Breathe," Dawn instructed Tohru, circling the other girl. Once again they were in the back garden, training. "Follow the sound of my voice."

Tohru, unable to see through the blindfold, turned around to face her again.

"Good," the Watcher whispered in her ear, ducking a blow and poking her in the side, making Tohru squeal. "Now, keep your eyes closed. Block my blow." Feinting left, Dawn smacked her lightly across the right side of her face. Tohru followed the feint, but missed the blow.

"Kyah! Darn it." The tiny Slayer stomped her foot.

"Don't worry, you'll get there." Without warning, Dawn whipped the blindfold off. "It's hard for you to sense me. Not only am I not a demon, but my magick is also very old. What do you feel when you try to See me?"

"You...you beat with the pulse of the stars..." Tohru replied, eyes full of wonder. Obviously, she'd never tried to define it before.

"Very good, that's because I am older than they are. And do you usually sense the stars?"

"Well, n-no, I don't. I don't need to."

"That's true. And because of that, you find it hard to sense me. All Slayers do, except for Buffy, of course. And that's because we're sisters, and share the bond of blood. Now, time to do our Katas."

"H-how do I sense demons?" Tohru asked, moving into her first position.

"I'll take you patrolling after work tomorrow night, m'kay? Now, whenever I clap my hands, change position." Tohru wasn't the best Slayer she'd ever seen; she lacked a heck of a lot of the natural grace Slayers were supposed to have. In fact, Dawn grimaced as Tohru tripped over a rock, she lacked _all_ of it. Still, a challenge was good. It'd keep her from missing home too much.

Or it would, if she'd had a home.

Angrily, the American shook off her melancholy. "You're doing better," she encouraged. "I mean, your form isn't perfect, but you're new at this." An idea struck her. "How do you feel about dancing?"

"D-dancing?"

"Uh huh. There's a good club near where I live. You can crash at my place tonight and we can go to work together tomorrow."

"Uh...but..."

"No buts. This is part of your training. Go tell Shigure, I'll pick out something for you to wear."

----------------------

It was just as she'd suspected. When Tohru wasn't thinking about fighting, or even thinking at all, the Slayer grace came out. In Tohru's demure, sinuous dancing, Dawn saw a less risqué version of Faith and Buffy's own style. She _was_ a Slayer, right down to the bone. But getting the Slayer to become something integral to Tohru's character was going to be harder than she thought.

Smiling at her own genius, Dawn lost herself in the music, extending upon Tohru's moves, and dancing in time with the other girl. Soon, two men came up and began dancing with them. The moment her partner touched his hand to the bare skin of her waist, Dawn knew he was a vamp. Not only did he give her vamp tingles, his hands were super cold. She ground against him, flirting through long eyelashes, then tapped Tohru on the shoulder.

"Powder room break," she apologised to the men sweetly, before walking confidently to the bathroom, Tohru following, uncertain. "They're vampires," she told the shivering girl.

"My stomach feels weird. There are little pains here." The Japanese girl pressed her hand against her lower abdomen.

"That'd be you sensing them. Weird, innit? Your power against the vamps is PMS." Dawn smiled thinly.

"I...I do not understand. What is PMS?"

"Never mind, honey. Let's just stake 'em and go home."

"...But...how?"

"We'll entice 'em out back. You go on out, through that door there." Dawn pointed, having ascertained the exits the moment they arrived, like a good Slayer's little sister. "And I'll bring 'em out, okay?"

"Yes...all right." Dazedly, Tohru turned towards the door.

"Hey, Tohr!" Dawn threw a stake at her, and automatically the Slayer caught it. "I'll be right there with you." With an encouraging smile, Dawn went back to the two vamps.

"Phew!" she said, waving a hand in front of her face and turning into California Girl. "It's _so_ hot in here. Tohru and I were gonna go out back for a little air, okay? We'll be back soon."

"We'll come with you!" the first vamp said eagerly.

Dawn let a slow, considering grin slide over her face. Ugh, complete fledglings then. "Sure, why not. C'mon, then." She led them outside to where Tohru waited, her eyes lifted towards the stars.

"It's so peaceful out here," the Japanese girl sighed, turning around.

Soft snarls were all the warning Dawn had before she was grabbed from behind. Pulling a stake out of the waist of her jeans, Dawn turned in the vamp's arms, ruthlessly kicked him in the groin, and staked him when he crumpled.

She looked over to Tohru, who was having a little more trouble, inexperienced as she was. The young Slayer managed to push the vampire off of her through pure luck, scrabbling for her stake. Dawn watched as the vampire loomed upon the girl, his fangs glittering in the moonlight.

Tohru squeaked in fright, her eyes wide, as she struggled to keep him from biting her. Her leg lashed out, tripping him over, and she fell with him, the stake plunging into his heart with the momentum, turning him into dust.

"Oh! I...I got him," she stuttered.

"Yes, and a good job you did, too." Dawn gave her a quick hug.

"N-no, I...I didn't do well at all. I couldn't find my stake, and I couldn't fight him off, and…and I almost died!"

"But you didn't. Rule number one, Tohru, don't die. Rule number two is never lose your stake, but rule number one is more important. If you ever have to run, run. Don't fight for the sake of it and lose. Live to fight another day, and win next time."

She pocketed the stakes, slinging an arm around Tohru's shivering shoulders. The poor girl was shaking like a leaf, and she searched for an innocuous conversation change.

"I think it's time you make one of your own. A Slayer needs her own stake, one that fits the grip of her hand, that has perfect balance for her, that means something." With a pang, Dawn remembered Kendra, whom she'd never really met. Still, she had memories of the deceased Slayer telling her about the importance of Mister Pointy in her singsong voice.

"My own stake? Is it that important?"

"You're less likely to lose your own stake, sweetie." Dawn laughed. "Now, let's go back to my place. Tomorrow, your training begins for real."

End Chapter 5


	7. Chapter 6

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Mizuno Kyoko, and the vamps, lol.

Author's Note: Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

Unless otherwise noted, assume the conversations are in Japanese.

----------------------

Things were going well. If Tohru wasn't the BEST Slayer that ever lived, she was at least dedicated to learning all she was supposed to learn, which was nice. Still, Dawn couldn't figure out how to bring the Slayer out of the girl. Tohru was incessantly cheerful about it, but definitely worried all the same.

"Let's go shopping," Dawn sighed, yet another training session over. She didn't feel like working on Tohru's stake tonight, it would bring up too many memories of Sunnydale. It all seemed so hard, and she had to wonder why. Where were the much-vaunted Slayer instincts? Where were the graceful fighting, the delicate steps, and the fierce bloodlust? Where were all the things that came out so willingly when the Japanese girl danced? Why couldn't she tap into that power?

"What for?" Tohru panted, her pale skin shiny with perspiration, aqua eyes wide and frightened.

"I dunno. Clothes." The Key shrugged miserably, trying not to let Tohru see how disheartened she was.

"I'm sorry. I...uh...I'm not very good, I know."

"That's not the problem." Swiftly, Dawn gave the Slayer a hug. "Never mind any of it," she dismissed quickly when Tohru's face fell. "Let's go. You need some proper workout stuff, anyway. And...I think a baton."

"Huh?"

"Well, you need to learn to toss. Batons have perfect balance, and aren't going to take out an eye if you conk yourself in the face," the Key said, as though she'd been thinking about it for a while, when she'd only gotten the idea then. It happened to her sometimes, these random flashes of inspiration. Often, they fizzled into nothing, ultimate failures. But sometimes there were gems, and this idea felt like one of them.

"Oh...all right." Tohru accepted this straight up, unlike the Scoobies, who would have told her to stop talking out her ass. That was a nice perk, actually being listened to for a change.

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

----------------------

They were in the sports department, looking at sneakers.

"No, Tohr. The ones you use for sport are falling apart," Dawn told the lithe Slayer. "You need new ones, yesterday."

"Yesterday?" Tohru frowned. "I...I do not understand."

Dawn laughed. "Don't worry. What size are you?"

They managed to find a pair of decent sneakers that fit, and were just paying for them, when...

"Tohru, Tohru!" A tall, slender young man with sparkling amber eyes ran up, dragging behind him another man, this one with rather interesting two-toned hair.

"Momiji! Haru! How are you?" Tohru exclaimed, smiling at the pair and moving away from the counter to let the person behind her get their shoes.

"I'm great! And you, Tohru? How are you?!" Momiji bounced up and down, the actions more suited to a 10 year old than the obvious sixteen or seventeen he actually was.

"I'm good..."

Haru merely smiled slightly, his limpid eyes roaming the store.

Dawn giggled, he reminded her so much of Oz with his crazy hair and lack of facial expression.

"Hi!" The blonde turned his attention to Dawn, making her freeze in her tracks. "I'm Momiji Sohma, and this is my cousin, Hatsuharu Sohma! Who're you?"

The Key smiled awkwardly, struggling to hold onto her composure. "I'm Dawn Summers." She sketched a bow. "I go to school with Tohru."

"Cool! So how come I haven't seen you there?" A frown settled over his face.

"Uh...I don't participate in extra curriculars so much?" she suggested.

"And I haven't actually seen you lately, Momiji. How's your dad?" Tohru asked gently.

Dawn filed that away. There seemed to be a hidden message behind the seemingly innocuous question, and she intended to find out what that message was.

"He's good." Momiji's entire face lit up, while his companion's darkened with every word. "Momo and Mama are good, too! She can play so well, I saw her in her school concert at the end of last year, and she was so talented!"

"We're suppose to see Hatori," Hatsuharu – Haru must be a nickname – uttered bluntly.

"Oh yeah! See ya, Tohru! Bye, Miss Summers!"

"Call me Dawn," she requested, waving goodbye cheerfully as the pair walked away.

"Wow, I didn't expect to see them here," Tohru chattered happily, picking up her bag and leaving the store.

"Mmm hmm," Dawn agreed. "So...how do you know them?" She figured they were cousins of the people Tohru lived with, since they had the same last name.

"Well, they go to our school, but that's not how I met them. They're Yuki and Kyo's cousins. And Momiji's father owns the building we work in," the dark haired Slayer replied.

Dawn's eyebrows arched. That was an interesting titbit of news. "Let's have something to eat," she proposed, knowing that while eating Tohru would be less guarded - if that were possible, Tohru being the most guileless person she'd ever met - all her concentration focussed on fuelling her high metabolism.

"Okay!"

They decided on soba noodles, since they were cheap and filling, and were soon seated with their bowls. After ten minutes of small talk, Dawn decided to broach the subject that was bothering her.

"So," she began, struggling with her chopsticks before giving up and using a spoon. "Why is Momiji so...hyper?"

"I don't know. He's always been like that." Tohru shrugged. "Until recently he was very short, he looked like a little kid," she confided. "And when I say little kid, I mean he looked barely out of elementary school. He hit his growth spurt during the holidays, and he doesn't look so young anymore."

No, he definitely didn't look young. In fact, Momiji was a nice hunk of salty manflesh, as Dawn's hormones were intent on pointing out to her. "So he still behaves like the little kid he used to appear to be?"

"I suppose so...I think it's kind of cute."

"It is. It's very endearing," Dawn admitted, "if slightly creepy."

"Creepy? Why?" Tohru frowned at her noodles.

Recognising the beginnings of a Slayer tantrum - lesson numero uno, don't insult the friends - Dawn hastened to explain.

"Well, he's acting like the child he used to be, instead of the man he is. It can be adorable, if not taken to extremes, but I get the feeling Momiji very well could."

"He's not really as hyper as he seems," was all Tohru would say on the matter, her large eyes thoughtful.

Dawn didn't respond, knowing that whatever she said would not be taken well. Instead, she awkwardly ate her noodles, finishing long after Tohru. "Let's get you home."

----------------------

"Do you have anything to report, Kureno?" Akito asked lazily, one long-fingered hand caressing a canary.

"Tohru Honda has a new friend, Akito."

"What that girl does is of no consequence."

"I find it intriguing to note that her friend spends a lot of time with Miss Honda at Shigure's house, and is more frequently seen in Miss Honda's company than either Miss Hanajima or Ari-Miss Uotani."

"Hmm...go on..."

"The girl's name is Dawn Summers, and she is from America. She transferred to Kaibara High School this year, and is employed at the same Sohma building as Miss Honda. It seems suspicious to me."

"Yes, I agree with you. Very well, Kureno. Make sure it is clear to Shigure that I wish to see this Dawn Summers as soon as possible. And have Tohru Honda come too." A cruel smile twisted the young man's lips. "It is time she learned of the penalties that arise from ignoring me."

End Chapter 6


	8. Chapter 7

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Mizuno Kyoko, and the vamps, lol.

Author's Note: Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

Unless otherwise noted, assume the conversations are in Japanese.

----------------------

After school the next day, Dawn and Tohru practiced yoga.

"What's the point of this?" Tohru asked, moving awkwardly from one position to another.

"Yoga increases your balance, as well as providing a sense of peace and wellbeing."

In contrast, Dawn was graceful in her movements, although nowhere near as graceful as any Slayer would be. It wouldn't be long before the pupil passed the teacher, Tohru had an excellent memory, all that was required was the muscle memory that came from repeating the moves over and over again. Inside the house a phone rang, shattering Tohru's concentration. Dawn winced as Tohru overbalanced with a yelp. Oh, and it might help if she had ANY centre of balance at all! "It's also good exercise," she continued doggedly, finishing the move and helping Tohru up.

The Slayer sighed, looking disappointed. "Are you sure I'm a Slayer, Dawn? You said they were strong and graceful."

"You'll get there," Dawn comforted, giving the dispirited teen a hug. "Trust me."

"Ah, Flower, I have something important to tell you," Shigure interrupted, sweeping outside. "Your presence has been requested by Akito. Yours too, Dawn. So off you go! Hurry along, mustn't keep him waiting!" He began to shoo them towards the gate.

"Hold it," Dawn interrupted, green eyes flashing. "Generally, at least 24 hours notice would be nice. And I have other things to do today." She wasn't about to be ordered around by some family head, no matter how important he thought he was. And she certainly wasn't going to meet someone without having some idea of how she should treat him, and how she could protect her Slayer. "I'll see if I'm free this weekend." Giving Tohru another hug, she walked away.

Shigure whistled backwards. "Akito will NOT be pleased," he murmured.

----------------------

Dawn was cuddled up in her favourite chair reading a book when the phone rang. Sighing with annoyance, she marked her place and picked up the receiver. "**Moshi moshi**?" she said.

"English please, Dawnie, we aren't all language geniuses," her older sister chided.

"Yeah yeah. How are you, Buffy?"

"I'm fine, how're _you_?" Buffy's voice softened. "You're the one in another country without any family or friends, after all."

"I have friends," Dawn defended. "And I have my Slayer."

"Wow, you're really into the Watcher thing, huh. How come you weren't so enthusiastic with me?"

"You didn't want me to be. You wanted to push me to one side so you could hang out with Mister Immortal," Dawn snapped. "Did you call for a specific reason?"

"Just to check in. Oh, and Giles wants to talk to you. I...I'm sorry about the Immortal, you know that, right?"

"I'm sure you are. Why don't you put Giles on?" It might be childish and petty, but she wasn't quite ready to forgive her sister just yet. Too many times she'd been pushed aside for Buffy's flavour of the month. She wasn't about to open her heart again, only to have it broken as Buffy fell for yet another inappropriate guy.

"Okay...I'll talk to you later," Buffy murmured.

There was a muffled sound, then Giles came onto the phone.

"Ah, Dawn, anything new to report?" he asked.

"Tohru seems to be advancing nicely, although she does not display the same innate balance most Slayers do," the brunette fretted.

"Not to worry, she isn't likely to. Willow and I have discussed this at some length, and found that Slayers Called who were not trained as Potentials tend to retain more of their previous physical condition than Potentials who WERE trained. It WILL pass, though. In fact..." Giles paused, and Dawn heard the sound of him cleaning his glasses. "The only reason Buffy didn't suffer a similar fate is that she was already a gymnast and cheerleader, and so had a remarkable amount of control over her body. Don't worry about it."

"Okay." She hated to admit it, but she HAD been worried. She wasn't sure if it were her fault or not. But to find out all untrained Slayers went through this...well, it was a HUGE load off of her shoulders.

"Now that's out of the way, something else is on your mind."

"How did you know?" asked Dawn in surprise.

"My dear, whether or not it's an actual reality, I've known you since you were very young," the Englishman replied gently. "You can't hide anything from me, and I know when my youngest daughter has something on her mind."

Tears sprang to Dawn's eyes at his words, but she pushed them back. "Akito wants to see me," she said simply, trusting Giles to know who she was talking about.

"Hmm...well, I'd say go. Try and butter him up, if possible, we _do_ want his support, but don't take any...er...flak from him, as it were. Supporters are far easier to find than annoying family members."

Dawn chuckled. "Will do. I'd better go, this must be costing a heap. Thanks Giles."

"You're welcome, my dear. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to call." Giles rung off.

Putting the phone back in its cradle, Dawn fell into contemplation. How should she act around Akito? Grabbing her laptop, she logged onto the 'Net. It was time to find out a few things about the mysterious Sohmas.

----------------------

"She WHAT?!" Akito screamed, flinging a decorative flower bowl at Shigure.

Shigure dodge it. "She said she was busy," he repeated insolently. "Obviously she doesn't think you're very important to her. And since you wanted to see Miss Summers and Tohru together, I told Tohru not to bother. She sends her regards, though, and hopes you're feeling all right."

"I don't care what that idiot thinks," Akito sneered, twisting his pretty face into something ugly. "I WANT TO SEE THIS GIRL!!!!"

"Well, if she finds the time, I'm sure you will. However, I doubt that will happen anytime soon. After all, you're of no consequence to her." He enjoyed this, reminding Akito that he wasn't the head of the universe, just their tiny world.

"_Make_ her come see me, Shigure. Or I'll make your lives a living hell!" The spoiled head threw another piece of crockery.

"As you wish." Shigure bowed, and left. As he closed the door, he murmured, "you already do."

End Chapter Seven

**Moshi moshi:** The way Japanese people answer the phone.


	9. Chapter 8

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Mizuno Kyoko, and the vamps, lol.

Author's Note: Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

Unless otherwise noted, assume the conversations are in Japanese.

----------------------

Dawn hadn't felt this sick with nerves since that last day in Sunnyhell. But this time, there were no demons...she hoped. No, instead she was going to meet the head of the Sohma family. The guy who was, essentially, her boss, and Tohru's too. The guy who could forbid her from ever seeing Tohru again. Coz yeah, Tohru wasn't a Sohma but she was living with them. And Dawn knew her well enough to know she wasn't likely to move out of Shigure's house and abandon Kyo and Yuki.

Which was totally cool but a little bit bad in light of the current situation. She wanted to be a good Watcher, she really truly did! But how could she, if she were banned from seeing her Slayer? She'd pretty much failed already, in all the time she had been Tohru's Watcher, the girl had only staked one vamp. Dawn went patrolling every night by herself. Things would be so much easier if Akito approved of her, or if Tohru moved out of Shigure's house.

With those thoughts in mind, she had spent the better part of a week preparing for this visit. It would either be a complete success, or a complete nightmare; her luck would allow no happy medium.

As such she'd gathered all the carefully edited information on the Council she could find, and done as much research as possible on the narcissistic head. She _hoped_ she'd found the best way to deal with him...but then, how did she know what he'd do, really? All she knew was that, when she'd mentioned that she had a meeting with the head of the Sohma family during lunch break at school, Yuki's face had drained of what little colour he usually possessed, and Kyo had clenched his jaw, then punched the table, almost breaking it. Even the internet had been massively unhelpful, she'd have to try slightly more supernatural forms of hacking later.

Not exactly the kind of reactions she'd hoped for, they put her skin on edge and had her wondering what kind of weapons she could possibly take into the meeting. Obviously a sword was out, as were axes and guns for the same reason. Too conspicuous, and too hard to explain. A stake would be ridiculous to the extreme, sure almost anything died when you shoved a stake through it, but still, that was taking things just a little too far. The guy wasn't a _demon_. So she decided on daggers that slipped into her boots, as well as a spelled locket designed to protect not only her, but also anyone she was touching from low-grade magical, physical and psychic attacks. (It was a pity that such shielding had consequences, it would have been nice to wear the locket all the time. But it could become something of a bad luck charm, if she misused it. Fate didn't like it when people tried to screw with Her.)

Hoping she'd covered all possibilities, and dressed to the nines in a black pinstripe suit that outlined her lean form, the Key made her way to Tohru's home. It was time to face Akito.

----------------------

"Whoa," Dawn stated, stopping short outside the main enclave of Sohma house.

Tohru nodded. "That's not all. The Sohmas own all the land around here. Everyone who lives in this part of town is a Sohma."

"Double whoa. And inside?"

"That's the main house. Only certain people with special privileges within the family live in there." Tohru shrugged awkwardly.

"How do they decide who will have these privileges?" Dawn asked.

"It's complicated," Tohru evaded uneasily. "I can't talk about it."

Having Buffy as an older sister had taught Dawn when she should and shouldn't push. Now was not the time to pry at Tohru's secrets. "Okay," she said simply. "Where do we go now?"

The Slayer's pale skin flushed and she stared at her feet.

"You _don't know_?!"

"I don't come here very often!" Tohru said in her defence. "And I've only seen Akito once!"

"Then how are we supposed to find him?!" Dawn snapped back. "Shigure isn't bloody well here!"

"Hi Tohru!" Momiji bounced up to them. "Hi Dawn!"

"Hey Momiji," Dawn sighed wearily.

"'Tori and I are here to take you to Akito, aren't we Hatori?" The blonde smiled up at the man by his side.

Dawn looked at the guy, her green eyes taking in every inch. And what a delicious lot of inches he was. Man oh man; did the Sohmas have some kind of spell on them that made them all absolutely droolworthy hunks of salty manflesh?

"This way," 'Hatori' said, indicating that they should follow.

"**Ano**, Hatori, how are you?" Tohru bowed as they walked along, something of an amazing feat considering the girl's usual clumsiness. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"I've been asked to supervise, Miss Honda." Hatori levelled a calm grey eye on the pair. "I assure you, it is no inconvenience to me. Nice to finally meet you, Miss Summers. I've heard so much about you."

"That's funny, coz I've heard nothing about you," Dawn replied calmly.

One side of Hatori's mouth quirked into something that could be considered a smile. "I expected as much," he replied dryly. "I am the family physician."_  
_

_'He can check my pulse anytime.' _Dawn's inner-Faith said lewdly. "That must be fulfilling." She had to wonder how big the Sohma family really was, if they had their own doctor _who was a part of the family_.

"Mmm," Hatori agreed.

"All the nurses are Sohmas too, right 'Tori!" Momiji piped up, grabbing Tohru and Dawn's hands.

Dawn couldn't help but feel a shiver go through her at Momiji's touch. Okay, so he was a little immature. He was still hot as all get out! "Ah, nepotism at its best," she said dryly.

Hatori said nothing, leading them through the winding pathways between the traditional Japanese houses, until they reached a large one directly in the centre. He slid open the door, taking off his shoes and replacing them with slippers. Dawn, Momiji and Tohru did the same. He led them through the house, finally sliding the door open to a large room.

Dawn swallowed, taking in the tatami mats on the floor, and the open door at the other end that lead out into a garden. At least there was an easily accessible escape route, should they need it.

"Akito, Miss Summers and Miss Honda are here," Hatori said, bowing to the figure standing in the garden.

"Yes, yes, you can go." The voice was petulant, obviously that of someone used to getting their own way.

"Ah...no, Shigure told me I should stay."

Hatori's tone was polite, but from the way Akito's languid pose stiffened, he might have poked his tongue out and jeered 'so there'.

"WHAT?! And since when is Shigure the head of this household?!" Akito whirled around, and Dawn's eyes narrowed. He had a spoilt, grumpy face, and was the kind of person she felt missed out on a few much-needed spankings as a child.

"You are our head, of course, Akito," Hatori replied, the inflection one of abject apology.

"Then LEAVE!"

Carefully, Dawn inclined her head slightly, indicating that she and Tohru would be fine. She wasn't sure if Hatori got the message, until he lifted one eyebrow. She tilted her head towards the door.

Hatori bowed. "Very well, Akito. When they are ready to leave, I will take them to the front gate." He left, closing the door behind him.

"So, you are the girl Miss Honda is spending so much of her time with." Akito's black eyes glowed with an unhealthy light as he insolently looked over Dawn from head to toe.

Dawn was not intimidated, having been stared down by far bigger bumps in the night than he. Akito didn't even register as an unsettling blip on her monster-dar, let alone a scary one. "Yes," she said calmly. "My name is Dawn Summers, it's nice to meet you, Akito." She bowed slightly, nowhere near as deeply as Hatori had done.

"The pleasure is all yours, I assure you," he replied coolly, stalking towards them.

Ooh, point to Akito. She'd scored a point by not bowing deeply, but that was a witty rejoinder, if a slightly overused one. Insolently, she rose one eyebrow, tilting her lips into a pleasant smile.

"So was there any particular reason for this meeting, then? Aside from ensuring I had the dubious pleasure of being introduced to the Sohma head?" Point two for her; Akito couldn't hide his livid expression.

"HOW DARE YOU!!!" he screeched.

"Oh I dare," Dawn hissed in return. "I dare because you have been nothing but rude and inconsiderate since I got here, without even taking the time to find out my affiliations! I _had_ heard that the Japanese were always polite, to keep from insulting people higher up than they, but you are the very epitome of American rudeness and conceit!" Okay, she was insulting her country, but she knew it was the best way to get under Akito's skin.

Akito's face twisted into something horrible, and without warning he picked up a vase, flinging it at her. Dawn was too stunned even to move, and even more surprised when Tohru caught the vase just before it hit her face.

"Right." Dawn grabbed the priceless vase, throwing it to the floor where it smashed and cut the tatami mat to pieces. Dawn allowed herself a moment of satisfaction; that'd cost a FORTUNE to replace. "Well, if you're not going to be civil, I'll be sure to tell the Watcher's Council the Sohmas are no longer our backers, and that we should remove all support from their endeavours."

She had the pleasure of watching Akito's face drain of colour, and was glad she'd been right. It wasn't a one-way relationship between the Watcher's Council and the Sohmas, but a symbiotic one.

"As if they'll believe a lowly Watcher exiled to _Japan_," he sneered, regaining his poise.

"I volunteered to Watch the newest _Slayer_, actually," Dawn replied coolly. "And they will believe me. The head of the Watcher's Council is my father, and I know you understand the importance of relations in business. And now, I bid you adieu. Hopefully our next meeting will go better...for you." With a mocking bow she dragged Tohru out of the room, intent on finding the way out without Hatori Sohma or any of the damnable family.

----------------------

Half an hour later Dawn had to admit they were lost. She must have gotten turned around somewhere, and now they were completely and utterly lost.

"Bloody hell," she sighed, sitting down on a conveniently located bench. "I'm sorry, Tohr."

"For what?" Tohru asked. "You didn't do anything wrong. Except...isn't it supposed to be a secret that I'm a Slayer?"

Dawn grinned slyly. "Well, I never actually told him you were the Slayer, so it depends on if he's smart enough to figure that out." She vowed to get a lot more information about the relationship the Council and the Sohmas had tonight. "But I'm sorry because I lost my temper, AND got us lost."

"Oh, that's all right. I'm sure things will turn out just fine. For now, it's an adventure!" The blue-eyed girl smiled brightly.

Dawn laughed. "Oh, you are the living end, Tohru."

"The end of what?"

"Never mind." The brunette shook her head, looking around. "How the hell are we going to get out of here?"

Tohru frowned. "Uh..."

"Sissy! Sissy!" A tiny girl with ginger hair flung herself at Tohru, clamping her arms around the Slayer's waist. "I've missed you!"

"Kisa!" It was obviously an automatic reaction on Tohru's part to return the hug. "How are you?"

"Good! Who's your friend, Sissy?" The girl had shocking amber eyes, not a natural colour, but so beautiful, and so full of curiosity.

Dawn frowned. She knew Tohru didn't have any siblings, so what was this Sissy business? "Hi, honey, I'm Dawn," she said charmingly, kneeling so she was the same height as the little girl.

"I'm Kisa," her voice was softer now, shyer. Obviously she hadn't seen Dawn in her excitement over seeing her friend, and now she was frightened. Poor little thing.

"It's very nice to meet you, Kisa." Gracefully, Dawn stood up. "I don't suppose you could do us a favour and show us the way out of here, could you?"

"Oh, I could...but Sissy wants to leave all ready?" Kisa looked crestfallen.

"No! I'd love to stay! But Dawn might have somewhere to be..." Tohru was obviously torn.

"I have the whole day free, actually." The Key laughed. "So what did you want to do, Kisa?"

The little girl smiled shyly. "I have a new Mogentai DVD that we could watch, if you want..."

"Why not." Dawn replied. Well, it was nice to know at least one member of the Sohma family wasn't strange.

End Chapter Eight

**Ano: **Um  



	10. Chapter 9

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Mizuno Kyoko, and the vamps, lol.

Author's Note: **Chapter dedicated to ****Silver Moonlight-81, who left such a nice review.**  
Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

Unless otherwise noted, assume the conversations are in Japanese.

----------------------

There was so little information on the Sohma family. They kept very much to themselves, and in fact Kyo, Yuki, Momiji and Haru seemed to be the first Sohmas to have ever attended a co-ed school. How strange...but not entirely unexpected. Akito seemed like the controlling type. She had to wonder how those four slipped out of his clutches. Maybe Shigure had something to do with it. 

There was another anomaly. How did Shigure fit into the whole mess? He'd seemed very eager for her to meet with Akito, but had apparently told Hatori to watch over them. When he found out Dawn had pretty much abused the head, he'd seemed pleased, yet at the same time, angry. He flirted freely with everyone, and could be very inappropriate, but it was obvious he meant none of what he said. He needled Yuki and Kyo incessantly with his innuendo, so why did they live with him? And why were they so scared of Akito? Granted, he was a bit of an ass, but he wasn't uncomfy feelings worthy insofar as she could tell.

Sighing, Dawn shut her laptop. It was so frustrating to only see one side of the story. The fact that Tohru was keeping things from her didn't help. With her luck, those things would probably clear up all the mysteries surrounding the Sohma family. But she wouldn't push. Wesley had pushed. And look where it got him.

----------------------

Tohru seemed different after the meeting with Akito, more in touch with herself. She shed her clumsiness almost overnight, her movements becoming as almost as fluid as the trained Potentials, although she wasn't as strong. Dawn couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised - and a little disappointed. She knew her friend's sudden transformation had very little to do with her, if anything at all. It was selfish of her, but she had wanted to be Tohru's hero. She was never the hero.

Still, she had to be glad. Finally she could take Tohru patrolling with her. But at the same time...patrolling was the one thing she did by herself, and she didn't want to give that up, yet.

'_Stop it,_' she told herself sternly. '_This is Tohru's destiny, not yours. And if you don't let her patrol she'll get restless. All Slayers do._'

It was true, too. Slayers craved the hunt; they needed it. Somehow, when the Shadowmen put the demon into that girl all those years ago, they also gave her the bloodlust, too. If a Slayer didn't fulfil her need to hunt and Slay, she went a little crazy. Dawn had a theory that this craving was the reason Faith went so wild all those years ago. With two Slayers in Sunnydale there just wasn't enough evil to go around when there wasn't an apocalypse on. The balance between good and evil was upset, so that evil retaliated by twisting Faith. Now Slayers worked in pairs and threes, but there were careful rules set in place about which graveyard was whose property. Slayers were also very territorial.

Shrugging into her leather coat, Dawn scooped up her weapon's bag. Unlike her superhero sister she couldn't lug an axe and a sword around without pulling something, so her bag contained silver daggers, a few binding potions, a handful of breakable bottles of holy water, as well as numerous stakes, every one hand carved by Xander. She planned to help Tohru build up a similar arsenal of light weapons, along with some heavy weapons as well. She bit her lip, wondering if this decision was the right one. Maybe she should wait until she could test Tohru's skills...

"Enough," she said aloud. "You've been entirely unorthodox in your treatment so far, Dawn Summers. Everyone says you should get Slayers patrolling as soon as possible. So now you're going to do what you know is best. Tohru can fight; you've seen her do it. And she's been much better since the meeting with Akito. If worst comes to worst, you can bail her out."

Feeling much better for the pep talk, the slender Watcher grabbed another bag that contained a change of clothes, and made her way to Tohru's house. When she got there, she knocked politely on the door.

Yuki opened it, his purple eyes widening in surprise when he saw Dawn. "Hello, Miss Summers," he said politely with a little bow. "How are you?"

"Good, you?" Hurriedly, Dawn returned the gesture, then pushed her plaited hair over one shoulder. "Um...is Tohru here?"

Slowly, Yuki nodded. Instead of getting her, or letting Dawn inside, he stepped onto the porch, closing the door behind him. "You spend a lot of time with Miss Honda," he stated.

"And? What of it?" the brunette asked nervously.

"I just find it strange that you became such fast friends, and are now spending so much time with her."

Dawn bit her lip. There wasn't really anything she could say to that. "Look, I don't think I need to explain myself to you," she said finally. "Tohru and I met at work...and...well, she's a really special person. I've never made such a fast and wonderful friend before. But...well, you know how she is. She's not the kind of person you can hate."

Yuki smiled fondly. "No, she isn't. Why don't you come inside? Tohru is taking some washing off the line, but she'll be in soon."

"Oh, I'll go help her!" Hurriedly, Dawn went out into the back garden where Tohru was humming under her breath as she folded clothes. Dumping her bags, Dawn set about helping.

"Oh! Hi, Dawn! You're early," Tohru said, smiling.

"Actually, I'm a little late. You must have lost track of time too, huh?"

"I'm sorry! I should wear a watch, but I'm too stupid to tell the time." The Slayer rapped her knuckles against her forehead.

"You are not stupid, Tohru, and you shouldn't say you are," Dawn said sternly. "You'll only reinforce a false message, which could have very detrimental effects on your psyche."

"Uh...okay...can you help me with this sheet?"

Obligingly, the Watcher did as she was told, and the washing was brought inside within a matter of minutes. They stepped out of the laundry, and Dawn walked smack into Kyo. With a strange _POOF_ sound and a cloud of orange smoke, he was gone, leaving an orange cat in his place.

Dawn shrieked, stumbling back into Tohru.

"Dammit! What the hell is she doin' here?" The cat said in Kyo's voice.

"_She_ has a name and is staying the night," Dawn snapped. "...I can't believe I'm arguing with a cat. So are you under some kinda curse?"

While she seemed calm, inside she was freaking out. How could anyone manage to keep this kind of thing a secret?! It certainly explained a lot about Kyo's dislike of physical contact. And why he puffed up like a cat trying to avoid a bath whenever anything upset him. Oh no! What if he couldn't change back? What if this was some kind of reaction to her Keyness?! A quick glance at Tohru calmed her slightly. The Slayer didn't look all that upset, so this mustn't be such an irregular occurrence.

"Who told you?! Tohru, you didn't open your big mouth did you?!"

"No, she didn't! I'm a witch, that's all! I recognise curses!" Dawn's eyes flashed at Kyo's accusation. She knew Kyo didn't watch his mouth, but really! Tohru wasn't stupid, or gossipy! "So how did you get cursed?" she asked kindly, wondering if Willow could lift it.

"I was born with it, not that it's any of your business, nosy!"

"Huh...that would mean it's something in your genetic make up...something that can only be cured by fulfilling the conditions of the curse. But you're the only one cursed?"

"What's going on?" Yuki asked, walking into the hall. "Dumb cat, you just had to reveal yourself didn't you!"

"I didn't do it on purpose you stupid rat! She bumped into me!"

With a sudden _POOF_ Kyo changed back into a human. A very naked human, Dawn noted as Tohru squeaked, hiding her face in Dawn's shoulder. The green-eyed teen looked at the ceiling, noting with interest that it was free from cobwebs. Tohru really did a thorough job.

"I'm dressed now," Kyo said grumpily.

"Good." Dawn grinned cheekily. "You know, Kyo, you have a really nice body."

Kyo's cheeks turned a flaming red, his hair standing on end. "SHUT UP!"

Tohru giggled, her own cheeks pink. "Uh, Dawn maybe we should take your things up to my room now?"

"YOU'RE STAYING?!"

"Only for the night! Sheesh, calm down, Kyo! You're like a cat on a hot tin roof!" She grinned again. "Hehe, I made a funny." Quickly, she escaped upstairs.

Yuki and Kyo looked at one another.

"I know we should tell Akito...but I just can't bring myself to do it," the silver-haired boy said.

Kyo nodded. "I know whatcha mean." He stiffened. "That doesn't mean I don't hate you anymore ya damn rat!"

"Stupid cat, I still hate you, too. But we're agreed, then? We won't tell Akito?"

"Only if you reveal to her that you're a rat. And then we should tell her the whole story. Or Tohru might do it for us and tell it wrong!"

"Tonight, then. After dinner," suggested Yuki.

"Deal."

End Chapter 9


	11. Chapter 10

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Mizuno Kyoko, and the vamps, lol.

Author's Note: Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

Unless otherwise noted, assume the conversations are in Japanese.

----------------------

_Long ago, God decided to have a banquet, and invite all the animals to come. He sent out invitations telling them what day the party was. However, on the day of the banquet, the mischievous rat decided to trick his neighbour, the cat, and so he told the cat that the party was the next day. While all the animals were feasting, the cat was dreaming of a party that would never happen. That's why there's no year of the cat, and why the cat and the rat hate one another so much._

"I've heard that story. It was slightly different, though." Dawn took a polite sip of her tea. So this was why Tohru hadn't gone through the denial stage. She was already familiar with the supernatural. "It involved a river."

Tohru giggled. "That's one version of it," she agreed. "The general gist is that the cat was tricked by the rat in some way, and that's why they hate one another, and why there isn't a year of the cat. What animal are you, Dawn?"

"Never mind that," Dawn said hurriedly. She was never quite sure of her star sign, let alone trying to figure out which animal she was. "So how does this curse work exactly? If an uncursed member of the opposite sex hugs you, or bumps into your front, you transform? And there are thirteen of you, one for each year, plus the unfortunate cat?"

"That's correct." Yuki nodded. "We won't divulge the names of the other zodiac members, you understand."

"Hmmm..." Dawn had a few ideas about who some of the other Jyuunishi were already. Maybe the curse was the privilege you needed to live in the inner house on the Sohma estate. She'd have to investigate strange happenings surrounding the Sohmas, there was no way such a huge secret could remain under wraps for long. They must have some way of keeping people quiet.

"Why aren't you more surprised?" Kyo asked suddenly. "We shoulda turned your world upside down!"

Dawn smiled wryly. "I'm well-acquainted with the stranger side of life. After all, I am a witch. But I've never come across an entire cursed family before..." She wasn't about to tell them that she was more than a witch, she was actually a mystical ball of green light that could destroy the entire world, their curse included. She didn't think that would go down well.

"What kind of a witch?" Yuki asked. "Are curses or electric waves a part of your powers?"

"No." The American shook her head. "I can do some minor spells and hexes if I want, but I prefer to try doing things the natural way before I use the supernatural. Any kind of power corrupts, and should be used only when necessary. My especial power is the ability to unlock any door...no matter what." She finished her tea with a sigh, and checked her watch. Ten o'clock. "Well, I'm really tired, and we do have school tomorrow, so we should probably head off to bed, right Tohru?"

"Uh huh!" Tohru nodded her head fiercely. "We need our sleep to do well!"

The boys nodded as well, and the four teens trooped upstairs to bed.

----------------------

Two hours later, Dawn opened her eyes, sat up, and shook Tohru awake. She almost didn't want to wake up. As inappropriate as the too-big-for-one bed was, especially having been bought by a single man who automatically flirted with girls half his age, it was _very_ comfortable.

"Mmph," the Slayer complained, burying her face in her fluffy pink pillow.

"Get up, we need to patrol." Dawn shook her again unsympathetically.

Groaning, Torhu opened her eyes. "Huh?"

"Patrol," Dawn repeated patiently, already getting dressed. "If we hurry we can make a quick sweep of the graveyards and be back here by four. Then we can get a few hours sleep."

"Do we have to?"

"Only if you don't want people to die. Do you want people to die, Tohru?"

"Of course not!"

"Then we need to patrol. With great power comes great responsibility, Tohru. The day you accepted the Slayer as a part of you, you also accepted your responsibility to keep innocents safe from the terrors of the supernatural world."

Tohru got up as well. "What should I wear?" she asked, running a brush through her hair.

"Jeans, a skin tight top that you can move in, and a jacket. It's cold out." Swiftly, Dawn braided her hair and shoved her feet into her sneakers. "Where's your stake?" she asked, pulling her weapons bag out from underneath the bed.

Tohru took it out of her schoolbag.

"Good, slip it into a pocket. We'll have to get you a utility belt or something." The very idea made Dawn want to giggle. Next she'd be suggesting poor Tohru wore a badly coordinated spandex outfit.

"Okay." Tohru slipped on the one pair of jeans she owned - Dawn had made her buy them - and the tank top she exercised in, pulling her winter coat on over the top.

"We'll have to build up our weapons supplies, some demons can only be slain with certain materials, but every journey begins with a single step. For now, we'll just lower the vampire population."

----------------------

There were very few vampires roaming about town that night, and only two cemeteries, so Dawn sat back and watched Tohru fight, shouting encouragement and advice. As a rule she didn't approve of this method of Watching, but she knew Tohru needed to learn to fight on her own, and she could easily join in to help if Tohru needed it.

But it didn't look like Tohru needed any help. She didn't talk to the vampires as she fought them, but neither did she stumble or move badly. All her movements were flawlessly executed, even if the fledgling vampires blocked a lot of them, obviously having more experience than her in the ways of fighting.

Within an hour the pair managed to search both graveyards and Tohru staked four vampires (and inadvertently let three get away). They were both tired by that time, and decided to head back to Shigure's house and crawl into bed.

"This was fun!" Tohru exclaimed in surprise, almost skipping along.

Dawn smiled tiredly, lugging her bag. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," she replied, stifling a yawn and looking forward to crawling back into that warm bed.

"I did! It was as much fun as dancing the other night."

Dawn laughed. "That's funny, my sis had a boyfriend who used to call it dancing. I suppose he was right. When you dance with someone you have to predict their moves so that you can move in harmony with one another. In fighting you have to do the same."

"Then I want to learn about all kinds of dancing," Tohru said firmly, as they climbed through her bedroom window.

"And we want to learn why you guys weren't asleep," Kyo said, flicking on the light.

End Chapter 10


	12. Chapter 11

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Mizuno Kyoko.

Author's Notes: Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.  
**Gaijin means foreigner, but it's a VERY rude and hurtful way of saying it.**

--------------------------

Dawn summed it up in one word. "Crap."

"Crap is right," Yuki said coolly. "Where did you take Miss Honda? Why does she have leaves in her hair and dirt on her face?"

"She's bleeding! What did you do to her?!" Kyo yelled, grabbing a kleenex and hurrying over to Tohru. He dabbed at the cut on her cheek, his face tender.

Dawn closed her eyes. That expression...she'd seen it before, on Tara's face, on Spike's, on Anya's...it was love, worship, even. Poor Tohru and Kyo. They were going to have a hard time of it if they couldn't even hug one another. Maybe...maybe they could make it work, though. Love didn't always end in disaster.

"It's not as bad as it looks," the orange-haired teen announced a moment later, his forehead creasing. "It looks days old. So why is there blood on your face, then?"

"Uh...we got into a fight! Yeah...but we kicked their butts! Because...girl power!" Tohru made a V for Victory with her fingers.

Clearly, neither boy accepted this blatant lie.

"Look, it's late and we have school in a few hours." Dawn could feel herself drooping. "Can we talk about it tomorrow?"

"No!" Kyo clenched his fists. "We'll sort this out now!"

"Please," Tohru's voice wobbled. She hated conflict. "Can we talk about it tomorrow? I have to go to bed if I'm going to get to school. And I must...I promised Mother...I can't...please..." Her large eyes shone with tears.

And just like that, the Sohma boys crumbled. They couldn't stand against her tears, and they knew they were beaten.

"Hey, no need to cry over it, idiot," Kyo said roughly, ruffling her hair.

"Of course it can wait until tomorrow. I have a student council meeting after school, so perhaps it could wait until after that?"

"I have to meet my Master at the dojo anyway."

"Tomorrow afternoon, once you two are finished. But not here," Dawn said firmly. "We'll talk at my apartment in town. Tohru and I can meet you at the school once you're both done. And now, go away." She felt she could safely say it now that all the secrets were going to come out. Before she had to be nice and polite to them, make them like her so they wouldn't resent her presence. But now she knew their secret, and soon they would know...well, not hers, but a secret she played a major part in.

With nary a protest the pair left, and Dawn and Tohru got ready for bed again.

"How can we tell them?" Tohru asked as she snuggled under the pink duvet.

Dawn searched blindly for her friend's hand, and squeezed it gently. "Don't worry," she comforted. "Yuki and Kyo are smart boys. And they care about you. This won't change a thing."

"Okay." Reassured, Tohru went to sleep.

Dawn lay awake in the darkness, worrying. She was warm and comfortable, but her mind was full of concerns. Tohru had done well tonight, but what if her friends rejected her? She knew Tohru cared about her education first, her friends second, and herself last. And Dawn wouldn't be able to bear it if Kyo and Yuki were hateful. Poor Tohru.

Sighing, she turned onto her side, sleep trying to take over. Whatever happened, her Slayer wasn't alone now. She'd always be there for her.

----------------------

Needless to say, neither Tohru nor Dawn really paid attention to their schoolwork the next day. _'In fact,'_ Dawn thought ruefully, _'we might have gotten more done had we stayed at home.'_

"Your waves are very sporadic today, Dawn," Saki observed, eating her lunch delicately. "Something happened yesterday."

Tohru 'eeped', concentrating on her lunch.

"Yo, what's up with you two?" Arisa asked suddenly, waving her chopsticks. "Now that Hana mentions it, you _both_ look uncomfortable."

Dawn smiled weakly. "It's nothing, honestly," she said. "Don't worry about it. My sister called...and we had an argument." She closed her eyes in pretend pain.

Tohru patted her hand. "Don't worry, Dawn, you'll figure it out." Her sympathy was genuine, which made Dawn feel all the worse for lying. Although technically it wasn't a lie, she _had_ had a small tiff with her sister. But nothing like she was making out.

"You have a sister?" Arisa rose her eyebrows, successfully distracted from Dawn and Tohru's jumpiness. "What's she like?"

The brunette American shrugged, flipping her hair over one shoulder. "A blonde bimbo cheerleader type. She's a personal shopper for some big fashion label in Milan."

"Could she get me hooked up with an agent? Or a modelling gig?" Curious, the Yankee leaned forward.

"I'unno, I'd ask her except she and I get on like a house on fire. Much burning, explosions, and loss of valuable items."

Saki giggled softly. "Dear me, you're very amusing," she said. "Very well, we'll leave you alone."

"Good." Dawn went back to eating her lunch, this time in peace. Trying to keep a secret around Tohru's friends was becoming increasingly difficult.

----------------------

"Well?" Kyo asked impatiently.

"Well, what?" Dawn said, playing dumb.

Yuki's purple eyes narrowed. "Idiocy doesn't suit you, Miss Summers," he informed her coolly. "You know exactly what we're referring to."

"Suppose you enlighten me," the brunette retorted, equally cool.

"Stop it!" Tohru exclaimed, twisting her hands in her lap. "Please, don't argue. Not over me!" Her large turquoise eyes sparkled with tears.

"So this is to do with you!" Kyo said, his tone one of revelation.

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Duh. I wasn't the _only_ one you caught sneaking back in last night."

Kyo went red, and Dawn imagined she could almost see his hackles rising. "Shut up!"

"Make me, furball." She poked her tongue out.

"Stop!" The Slayer slammed both hands down on the dining table, and, with an alarming creak, it cracked right down the middle. "Oh no! Dawn, I'm so sorry!" She began to cry.

"It's all right, Tohr, I know you didn't mean it," Dawn comforted. "Well...this is the secret, I guess," she added weakly.

"Tohru's super strong? What does that have to do with sneaking out?"

"There's more to it than that, isn't there, Miss Honda," Yuki said gently.

Tohru nodded. "I'm what's called a Slayer," she admitted softly. "I-" She was interrupted by a shout of anger from Kyo.

"DAMMIT! How could you get her involved in that world, you stupid **gaijin**!" The redhead clenched his fists, his lean frame almost vibrating with anger.

"You know what a Slayer is?" Dawn asked, more amused than angered by Kyo's exclamation. In a way, it made sense. If they were part of that inner circle, as she believed they were, then Akito may have confided in them to some degree. Well, at least she wouldn't have to do the whole speech. Just the revised edition.

"Yes, Miss Summers, we do." Yuki's voice was carefully controlled. "How is it that Miss Honda is a Slayer? And why did you know before us?"

"Easy. I'm her Watcher."

"Oh! So you watch her fight vampires, and eventually die, do you?!" Kyo exploded, standing up. "You catelogue each moment of her life, then discard her when her life expires? YOU ENCOURAGE HER TO LEAVE HER FRIENDS AND TRUST ONLY IN YOU, JUST SO YOU CAN LET HER DIE?!"

"No," Dawn hissed, stalking around the table to stand in front of him. "I plan to be right there, fighting alongside her. I plan to take care of her, and have her take care of me. I plan to save her life, and hopefully she'll save mine. I plan to train her up, and let her stand on her own two feet. I plan to make sure she's never alone, and she always knows how special she is! Now SIT DOWN!" She pushed him back into the seat, then stalked around to hers, gracefully perching on the edge of it. "I suppose you don't know about the changes to the Council, so I'll tell you."

For the next three hours she talked herself hoarse, briefly glossing over her sister's reign as the Last One Slayer, before filling them in on the new support system for Slayers, the changes to the Watcher's Council, and her own relationship with the head honchos there. She talked about the Battle with the First, and the aftermath. She was careful to stress that a Slayer had to _agree_ to be Called, that it wasn't mandatory any longer. And that no matter what, a Slayer had her Sisters to take care of her, and help her in her hour of need.

"And that's it," she finished, taking a grateful sip of the tea Tohru had poured for her. Her throat was scratchy and sore.

"You'll need to give us a moment to take this all in, Miss Summers," Yuki apologised. "The little I know of the Council of Watchers and their relationship with the Slayer is not positive. Akito got on well with your...Mister Giles' predecessor, which on its own made the entire organisation suspect."

Dawn nodded. "That's okay, we didn't like Travers, either." Her programmed dislike had only intensified when the butthead tried to use Glory as a bargaining chip. Because he didn't give Buffy the information straight away, more people died. And Buffy might have been saved, had it not been for the whining troll. "Take as much time as you need."

"Do..." Tohru hesitated, her eyes shimmering with tears. "Do you hate me now?" Her lower lip was trembling.

"No, idiot!" Kyo reached across the table, gripping her hand. "Of course we don't!" He didn't seem to realise he'd done it, or that he'd spoken for both himself, and his hated cousin.

A shadow of pain in his violet eyes, Yuki nodded. "We could never hate you, Miss Honda," he said in his calm, clear voice.

"Good," the girl hiccuped, managing a smile.

Dawn breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't over, they needed time to think before their responses could be counted as definite, but it looked like things were going to be okay.

End Chapter 11


	13. Chapter 12

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Mizuno Kyoko.

Author's Notes: Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.  
**Tadaima** means "I am home", and is traditionally said when you return home at the end of the day, or a trip. Even after returning home from grocery shopping .

--------------------------

Next week was Golden Week, Dawn remembered on April 20th as her alarm woke her up with its incessant beeping. She was _so_ looking forward to it. Seven days without school was heaven, no matter what country you were in. An entire week of sleeping in, no homework...she could spend time with-

Dawn sat up in her bed, a thought occurring to her. No, she couldn't spend time with friends. She didn't _have_ any friends here. Sure, she had Tohru, but Tohru would probably want to spend the week with her actual friends, Hana and Uo, since she hadn't seen them outside of school for so long.

She sighed. This must be what Giles went through every day for all those years. He had a brief respite with Jenny and Olivia, but nothing truly permanent...she missed him so much…she missed _all_ of them. When was the last time she wrote to Carlos, or called Kitty?

Biting her trembling lip, Dawn tried to ignore the wave of homesickness that threatened to overwhelm her. If she were home right now...back in Sunnydale, before all this mess, she'd be whinging to Mom that she didn't feel well, and didn't want to go to school, and she'd pretend she had a temperature to try and convince her. And then, when Mom didn't buy it, she'd try the puppy dog eyes, before finally getting up for school. Well, that did it. Dawn burst into tears.

She came out of her melancholy some time later, when the doorbell rang.

"Dawn?" Tohru called. "Are you there?"

"C-coming!" Dawn yelled. Dammit, now she was gonna be late for school! Swiftly, she got up and ran to the door, opening it. "Sorry, slept in," she lied, "make yourself at home, I'll just get dress-"

Kyo grabbed her arm. "You've been crying," he said bluntly.

"Oh, Dawn, are you okay?" Tohru asked, concerned.

Dawn nodded quickly. "Fine, promise. Just...stubbed my toe," she fibbed, and not very well, at that. "I'll uh...go get dressed, and then we can head off, 'k?"

With a too-bright smile, she hurried back to her room, throwing on her clothes and haphazardly shoving her feet inside her shoes and dragging a brush through her hair before plaiting it into two pigtails. "So, Golden Week next week," she said brightly, hurrying out.

"Yeah," Tohru grinned. "I can't wait! Last year, Shigure let Mum and me come down to the lake with them-"

"Mum? I thought your mum was dead," Dawn questioned, as they headed towards school.

"Oh, you haven't met her yet!" Tohru exclaimed. "Silly me! I'll introduce you tonight."

"Okay." Shrugging, Dawn headed for school, unaware that while Tohru was convinced her tears were nothing more than a sore toe, Yuki and Kyo weren't quite so easy to fool.

----------------------

Yuki and Kyo had their usual after school commitments, so Dawn and Tohru walked to Shigure's house alone, the Slayer regaling her American friends with tales of her mum's exploits the entire way.

"They called her the red butterfly, because that was what her taillights looked like as she sped away," Tohru confided, a fond smile playing on her lips.

Dawn giggled appreciatively. Only Tohru would be proud of having a gang member for a mother, but somehow Dawn couldn't be shocked by the stories she was hearing. She couldn't really talk anyway; her mom used to hit people over the head with shovels, and once had sex on top of a police car. Plus, Buffy was fully into the whole blowing up buildings thing. No, even if she'd had any inclination to judge, it would only make her a hypocrite. As it was, she thought Kyoko sounded like a really cool woman.

"I don't really have her with me, of course, Mum's gone, now, but I still have a photo…I suppose…I feel much better when I talk things over with her. She always knows what to say."

Dawn nodded slowly, trying to think of something to say. This was an important part of who Tohru was. She couldn't belittle it. "It's not a bad idea, actually," she said after a moment. "After all, we all need someone to talk to. And the ones we love never truly leave us. A little bit of her's still there inside of you. It's that bit that's helping you figure things out."

The Slayer smiled. "I like that thought," she admitted softly, walking up to the door. "**Tadaima,**" she called as she stepped inside.

"Ah, Tohru, my flower, my bride!" Shigure practically skipped out of his study. "I need some more tea, if you wouldn't mind." He gave her a puppy-dog look. "My throat is so dry that I cannot concentrate..."

"Oh! Of course!" Tohru hurried off to the kitchen.

Shigure watched her go, his expression contemplative. "So...she's the Slayer," he mused.

Dawn goggled. "How do you know that?!"

Shigure raised on dark eyebrow. "Dawn, I'm one of Akito's confidantes," he told her, tone indicating his amusement at her apparent idiocy. "And the minute he relayed your...altercation - at the top of his lungs, and with much broken crockery, I might add - I put two and two together. Still, I always imagined Watchers to be rather stuffy English men." He flashed her a devastatingly sexy smile. "Glad to know they make them in the Cute High School Girl model as well."

Dawn couldn't help her blush. Hey, she rarely got hit on by anyone, and he was still attractive enough to raise her blood pressure, even if he was too old for her. "Well, I'm glad you approve," she said tartly. "Because I plan to hang around." Then, deciding she should get him back, she smiled wickedly. "Which animal are you, then?"

The tall man was overcome by a bout of coughing. "How did you know?" He managed to gasp after a few minutes.

Dawn's smile turned mysterious and enigmatic, but before she could reply Tohru rushed out with the tea tray.

"Here you are!" She handed it over, cheeks flushed from the heat of the kitchen.

"Thank you, Tohru." Shigure bestowed a dazzling smile upon her. "Now, before I get back to work, we need to talk about what's happening next week."

"Eh?" Tohru's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Why do we need to talk about it?"

"Silly flower. We need to decide where we're going to go," Shigure chuckled. "And who's going to come with us!"

"I want to do something with Hana and Uo..." Tohru fluttered apologetically.

"Resort it is, then. I'll make the arrangements. Dawn, you'll be coming, too." With that, Shigure went back into his study.

Dawn and Tohru looked at one another.

"I have _no_ idea," the American said decidedly. "But I'll come…if you want me there…"

Tohru smiled shyly. "I'd like that," she answered. "Now come and meet my mum!"

End Chapter 12


	14. Chapter 13

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Mizuno Kyoko.

Author's Notes: Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

Before anyone says that Kagura is out of character in this chapter, just remember what she was like when Tohru first met her, before she saw Kyo. Yeah, that's right. She was shy and meek. Sorry to sound snappy, had WAY too many people growl at me over that one .

--------------------------

Dawn gazed around her in awe. She'd known the Sohmas were rich, but geez...this was just amazing.

Golden Week had begun with a beautifully appointed charter bus that picked Dawn up at six a.m. in the morning. She'd stepped on, and silence had immediately descended among her fellow passengers, which included Tohru, Saki, Arisa, Kyo, Yuki, Momiji, Haru, Kisa, a shy girl with shoulder-length brown hair who was gazing adoringly at Kyo, and a boy the same age as Kisa who had sly eyes. Shigure was in the front passenger seat, and the driver was a man with long white hair, who she couldn't see very well.

"Uh...hey..." Sheepishly, she waved, aware of her slightly rumpled appearance. She'd dressed for a day of travelling, and her t-shirt was a little creased from living on her bedroom floor for the past few months. She sat down between Haru and Momiji, hormones wildly stating their approval of the move.

"I don't believe this," the slanty-eyed boy drawled. "Honda has decided to saddle us with an _American_?! What next? A _yak_?" The way he said it indicated he thought the yak infinitely more desirable, and useful.

"And who might you be?" Dawn asked politely, looking him up and down.

"My name is Hiro Sohma." He stuck his nose up in the air.

"Charmed, I'm sure," she replied in a tone that said she was anything but. "And what's your name?" She smiled pleasantly at the shy girl.

"Ka-Kagura Sohma..." the girl whispered.

"I'm Dawn Summers. It's nice to meet you."

"...nice to meet you too..."

Poor thing, she was so terrified. Dawn pitied her at once; she seemed so much like Amanda was at first. But Amanda had grown into a strong-minded individual, and she was sure Kagura would, too. Now...how to de-shy the girl...with a yelp of inspiration, Dawn dove deep into her backpack, pulling out a pack of cards. "Anyone for a game of Go Fish?" she asked, grinning.

And so the trip had passed with a minimal amount of fuss and only three fights between Kyo and Yuki.

"It's amazing, isn't it," Momiji said, walking to stand beside her. "Every time I come here..."

"It's so beautiful..." Dawn gasped, surveying the traditional style cottages that made up the resort. It was all very picturesque, set in some beautiful country, with a river winding around the estate, and dark-haired people walking around in kimono and yuukata.

"It's as tranquil as it looks, too. Here we can have a few days' peace before it's back to the grindstone." The blonde stretched. "And the swimming pool is awesome. In fact...LET'S ALL GO SWIMMING!"

"But I don't have a suit!" Dawn protested, as Momiji grabbed her hand, and dragged her along, the other teens following. The white-haired man and Shigure appeared to be having an argument over where to park the bus.

"AH! Finally my talents are needed!" the white-haired man cried, clapping a hand on Dawn's shoulder in an iron grip. "Do not worry, _ma petite American_, I will have you properly outfitted in no time. I will have ALL our princesses outfitted!" He sighed, elated expression falling.

"Ah, if only Mine was with me. I would be able to exercise my FULL ARTISTIC POTENTIAL! As it is, I will have to work with..._templates_." He shuddered in disgust. "Still, no time to waste! Come, my princesses! Let us TRANSFORM YOU INTO YOUR RADIANT INNER SELVES!"

----------------------

A little under an hour later all six girls were wearing new swimmers. Dawn was exceedingly impressed, not only did this guy (who was apparently Yuki's big brother Ayame) instinctively know what would look good on each of them; he also did his job quickly and efficiently.

"Thank you," she said warmly, admiring her new strappy black bikini. It had sudden firework bursts of green on each breast, and a big one across her bum. She thought she looked fabulous, especially with the transparent black sarong he'd 'whipped up out of a few odds and ends.' "You're amazing."

"I know," Ayame said simply. "But it helps that I have such WONDERFUL beauties to work on! This wouldn't work anywhere near so well with girls who didn't SHINE!"

"Yo, can we go down now?" Arisa asked impatiently. Hers was a scarlet suit with the back cut out, so it was a one-piece at the front, and a bikini at the back. Her sarong was made of gossamer fabric the same colour as her swimming costume, embroidered with little ruby red stars. It showed off her long pale legs remarkably well.

"Yes, I find myself quite anxious to bathe. I hear the pools here are delicious," Saki said calmly. Hers was a high-cut, scoop-necked ebony one-piece with a deep purple sarong scattered with tiny black flowers that went all the way down to her ankles. One slim thigh flashed tantalisingly out of the gap.

"Yes, yes, you can go now, you're all done."

"Oh, good. I want Kyo to see me..." Kagura's cheeks flamed scarlet. She looked very pretty in a demure orange two-piece with little bows at her hips and one between her breasts. Her sarong skirt was short, and made of orange-and-white tie-dyed cotton.

"Ooh, Sissy looks pretty," Kisa said, clapping her hands. She was dressed in a pink and blue striped one-piece and matching sarong, and looked absolutely adorable.

Dawn turned to look at her blushing Slayer, and couldn't help the fond smile at Tohru's appearance. She really did look very pretty, wearing a white one-piece with a little frill around the bottom that looked like a skirt. She had matching white ribbons in her hair, and her sarong was made of floaty white cotton. "You look lovely," she told her.

"**Ano...domo...**" [Um...thanks... Tohru's cheeks went an even darker red.

"She looks like a bride," Saki said softly, voice quavering.

Kisa giggled nervously, and the spell was broken.

"Yo, what're we waiting for? Let's go swimming!" Arisa crowed, pumping her fist in the air.

They trooped down to the pool, and found that the boys hadn't waited for them, but were busy playing a game that seemed to be a mixture of Marco Polo and volleyball.

With a wicked grin, Dawn took a running leap into the water, angling her body for optimum splashing, while the others followed at a more sedate pace. She noted some satisfaction when she surfaced that she'd managed to drench every single one of the girls, as well as make all the boys duck in alarm. "Fear me, for I am queen of splashes," she announced cheekily.

One corner of Haru's mouth quirked, and he raised an eyebrow. "Queen of splashes, you say?" he asked mildly.

"I challenge you to a duel, USURPER!" Momiji cried dramatically, sending a huge wave of water into Dawn's unsuspecting face, having used Haru's question as a distraction.

Dawn coughed, spluttering chlorinated water everywhere. "Very well," she agreed evilly. "Girls...wanna help?"

Aside from Tohru and Kisa, who looked a bit reluctant, every other girl had a similarly wicked expression, and the boys swallowed nervously.

"You sure you want to do this?" Dawn queried, deciding to give the blonde boy a chance to back out.

"A gentleman never gives up!" Another splash.

"Right, then." Dawn pushed back imaginary sleeves, and sent a huge wave towards her foe. Everyone else joined in, and soon water was flying everywhere.

The dark-haired American laughed as Momiji ducked one of her splashes, and fell over. Yes, Golden Week looked to be a big success.

End Chapter 13


	15. Chapter 14

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Mizuno Kyoko.

Author's Notes: Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

--------------------------

Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and they could only stay for five days, since they all had to go back to school, or in the case of Ayame, work. And so, on the last night, Momiji proposed they go out for dinner.

"On a group date!" He pumped his fist in the air. "A proper one! We'll go to the movies, and then to a nice restaurant afterwards!"

"Dumb rabbit, there aren't enough people," Kyo said grouchily. "There are six girls and five guys. How're we gonna manage it?"

"I'll have _two_ dates! Yay!" Momiji exclaimed, his face lighting up. "I want Dawn and Kagura! Will you two go out with me? _Please_?"

"PERVERT!" Kyo smacked the blonde over the head, his face twisting in anger.

"_Owwwwww_! Waaaaa! Kyo hit me!"

Dawn laughed at them. "I'd love to go out with you, Momiji," she said warmly.

"Me too," Kagura smiled, yet it seemed forced to the American. She wondered if Kagura had hoped to go with someone else.

"Great! I have it all worked out! Kyo will go with Tohru, Kisa will go with Hiro, Uo will go with Yuki, and Hana will go with Haru! Now we just have to decide where we're going to go!"

"Dammit, wait one moment!" Kyo yelled. "You can't just arrange people's dates for them!"

Momiji's eyes widened. "Don't you want to go with Tohru, Kyo?"

"No, yes, shut up!" Kyo blushed the colours of the setting sun.

"If you don't want to be my date, that's okay," Tohru said quietly.

"I do! I'm your date, okay?!"

The Slayer giggled and blushed. "Okay."

"What about the oldies?" Arisa asked, jerking her head to where Shigure was unashamedly eavesdropping.

"Oh, we plan to stay in tonight," Ayame said, his eyes hooded. He flipped his long silver plait over one shoulder. "The beautiful full moon-"

"-The luscious grounds-" Shigure continued.

"-And one another for company! Oh I couldn't _imagine_ a better end to our trip!"

"Nor could I, dear Aya," the dark-haired man replied, smirking.

Dawn rolled her eyes at their antics. "What're we going to wear?" she wondered aloud. "I dunno about the rest of you, but I packed casual stuff. I didn't even pack a swim suit, idiot that I am."

"Dawn you _can't_ say that!" exclaimed Tohru. "You can't say things like that, they're detrimental to your psyche!"

There was a moment of awkward silence, as everyone digested that. The same thought passed through everyone's mind (except Dawn's.) 'Where did that come from?'

Dawn blushed the same colour as her red t-shirt. "Uh...so, clothes?"

"Oh, I can help out there," Ayame said eagerly. "I've been waiting for the chance to design some haute couture for my favourite girls! And I have some odds and ends in the bus! Let's go!"

And so it came about that once again the six girls were trapped in a small space with a very happy man measuring their bodies.

----------------------

The movie was good, but since it had to be suitable for the young middle-schoolers, not scary (while Dawn wouldn't mind giving that snarky brat Hiro a scare, she loved little Kisa too much to frighten her). All in all, it was a bit predictable, but then Dawn had never sat through a kid's film in reality before. She had in her memories, but not for real. So it was a nice experience for her, too.

Now the group strolled leisurely along the main street of the little Japanese town-village-thing, peeking into shops, and casually chatting as they waited for their tummies to start growling again. At Dawn's insistence and with Tohru's quiet support, Ayame hadn't gone too over the top with the girls' outfits, and they were all dressed in very pretty summer-style dresses. Dawn's was green, 'to match your eyes my exotic princess', Arisa's scarlet, Saki's deep purple, Kagura's a rich burned orange, Kisa's pale baby blue, and Tohru's a very light pink that bordered on white. Luckily, all six girls had brought strappy sandals along, so their entire look was semi-casual, while still being smart enough for a restaurant.

"Ooh!" Momiji grabbed Dawn's arm. "Let's go there!"

Desperately, Dawn tried to ignore the tingles that spread up and down her arm. "Looks cool," she replied, shrugging. It was a Western-style restaurant that served both traditional Japanese cuisine, and Western cuisine.

The rest of the group signalled their agreement, reactions ranging from Tohru's bright 'Okay!' to Haru's shrug, and Hiro's roll of the eyes. They went inside, and all eleven immediately relaxed at the warm, cosy atmosphere.

"Welcome," the greeter said, bowing deeply. "Our restaurant is honoured by your arrival. Would you like a table for eleven?"

"Please!" Momiji bounced on the balls of his feet.

Smiling, the dark haired woman waved over a young waitress.

"Welcome." The waitress bowed even deeper. "My name is Hanako, I will be your waitress this evening. Please, follow me."

Within fifteen minutes they were seated and had ordered one of the banquets, so they could get a taste of everything. They got their food, and their drinks (as well as the complimentary tea) and began to eat, all of them happy for a break, when it happened. A vampire walked in, arm around a petite Japanese girl who was still alive. Probably his next meal.

Dawn wrinkled her nose; he wasn't even a _pretty_ vampire, his skin was all acne-fied. Obviously he'd had it bad when he was turned. Tohru caught her eye, and frowned. Slowly, Dawn nodded. She got up.

"I have to go to the bathroom," she announced.

"Oh, I'll come with you!" Tohru hopped up, almost knocking over her chair. Only her lightning-fast reflexes stopped it from tipping. She flashed everyone a bright smile, then followed Dawn to the bathroom. "What are we going to do about the vampire?"

The Watcher frowned, thinking. "Hum...well, he's already got a victim, which is a bit of an issue. We really need more time..." Dawn chewed her thumbnail, thinking hard. "There's only two options, really...we either wait until he takes her outside and hope we manage to get there in time...or we entice him away...with bait." She switched to her index fingernail, looking Tohru up and down. Her dress reached her knees, and had a sweetheart bodice and ruched out skirt. It looked very innocent, especially paired with the creamy yellow ribbons the Slayer had insisted on wearing. Maybe...

"What?" Tohru asked nervously. As naive as she was, she couldn't miss the speculative look on Dawn's face.

"How..." Dawn hesitated for a moment. "How do you feel about being the bait?"

"Uh..." Tohru's cheeks went pink. "What would I have to do?"

"Make yourself available. Smile shyly at him as you walk back to the table, and touch your neck. Make it seem an unconscious action. Glance over at him occasionally. Pretend you've got the hots for him. Then, during dessert, get up and walk past his table, smiling softly all the while. Come out here, but don't come into the loo. Instead, go out into the garden. I'll follow you out. Have you got a stake on you?"

Tohru nodded, pulling one out of her purse. "You told me never to leave home without a stake, so I haven't," she said simply.

Dawn grinned. "I wish all the Slayers in Training were as attentive as you," she complimented. "You're a Watcher's dream."

The girl flushed scarlet. "Oh, I wouldn't say that...I...that is, I just...well, you told me to, and..." She covered her brilliant cheeks with her hands, flustered.

Dawn laughed, then pulled her into a hug. "Let's go back, else they'll think we've fallen in."

They quickly returned to the table, and were chatting and laughing like nothing was wrong. Jokes and insults flowed freely among the group, with many mentions from Arisa and Saki for 'Kyon-Kyon' being careful with 'their beautiful bride', or they might have to go Red Butterfly on his ass. Momiji hugged Kagura tightly at that, begging her to protect him 'from the scary girls'. Dawn filed that away in her mind. Obviously, he wasn't one of the Jyuunishi, if he could hug girls. So why was he inside the compound? Maybe a member of his family was one of them...yes, that would explain it.

Dessert was ice cream and gingersnap cookies, the group's concession to Dawn, since they'd eaten traditional Japanese food for dinner. Dawn was enjoying herself immensely, when Tohru stood up.

"I'll be back in a moment," she said cheerfully, walking towards the bathroom.

Dawn watched the Slayer duck her head slightly as she walked past the vampire, one hand reaching up to tuck some hair behind her ear, and bare her neck. _'Good, Tohru,'_ she thought. The vampire seemed intrigued, and stood as well, following her out. She turned back to the table, and, accidentally on purpose, knocked her tea into her lap.

"Ow!" she hissed. Dammit, that stuff was _hot_! "Darn...I'll be back in a moment."

"Would you like some help?" Kagura asked, rising.

"No! No, Tohru's probably in the loo, she headed in that direction. And besides, it's just a little hot water. Nothing too serious." She got up, pulling the green dress away from her body. At least the tea wouldn't stain. "Be back in a moment." As soon as she was out of sight, a whispered spell dried the skirt of her dress.

She knew the burns would be gone by tomorrow, but that didn't stop her from whimpering softly as the newly forming blisters rasped against her skirt. She didn't have time to heal them though, or the energy to waste. Any and all of her magickal reserves had to be available for Tohru's use, should things turn ugly. She wasn't the amazing witch Willow was, and she didn't have that kind of power, unless she tapped into the Key, which she didn't plan to do. She couldn't control the Key, and excess power...well, she liked living. It was nice. Soda wouldn't have the same fizzy feeling if she were dead. So she wasn't about to use the Keyness to save them, unless absolutely necessary.

_'Stop that,'_ she told herself firmly. _'It's just one fledgling, for Pete's sake. You know Tohru can handle it. And if she can't, you can.'_ Honestly, what was wrong with her, lately? She was second-guessing herself at every turn. And she missed her family horribly; even though the majority of them didn't seem to notice she was gone. Maybe it...maybe it was because Tohru had so many friends who loved and adored her. She never really had that. Xander, Willow, Spike, Giles...they were all Buffy's friends. She didn't have anyone.

Angrily, Dawn jerked her mind away from the sore memories. She totally didn't have time for that right now; she had to help her Slayer. She hurried out to the back of the restaurant, able to hear the sounds of struggle now. Just as she rounded the corner, Tohru was thrown into the wall. The Japanese girl grunted, then jumped straight back into the fray, dealing a solid blow to the vamp's nose, which crunched alarmingly.

"Oh!" Tohru gasped. "I'm terribly sorry!" Then she seemed to realise she shouldn't be apologising, and fumbled for her stake.

The vampire snarled, clawed hands reaching for her neck while she was distracted.

Quickly, Dawn staked him, coughing slightly as the ashes exploded around her. "Don't apologise for hurting someone, silly," she smiled, tucking her stake back into her purse.

Tohru's face fell, and she looked as though she was about to burst into tears. "I'm sorry," she said, voice quavering.

"Hey, don't." Dawn pulled her into a hug. "You can't be expected to know everything. I like that you're such a sweetheart. You need that; it'll help you. And I don't want you to become some nasty, snarky aloof bi-nt." She quickly amended what she'd been about to say. "You should always be yourself."

The Slayer smiled tremulously. "Okay." She hugged Dawn back. "Should...should we go back out there?"

"Oh, yeah!" Dawn let go, and hurried back out there. "I spilled tea on myself so I could follow you, so if anyone asks, say you were helping me dry my skirt," she told the other girl.

They made it through the rest of the night with no problems, although the girl who had come in with the vamp seemed pretty out of sorts by the end of the evening. Still, better angry than dead, Dawn thought.

As they headed home on the charter bus the next day, trying very hard to ignore the hairpin turns Shigure thought were a necessary part of driving, Dawn reflected that it had been a very nice Golden Week indeed.

End Chapter 14


	16. Chapter 15

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Mizuno Kyoko.

Author's Notes:** I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year!**

Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

--------------------------

It was strange, the way the Sohmas all seemed to drop in on Shigure so often. Everyone she'd met had so far payed Tohru a visit every afternoon, resulting in there being very little time for training and patrolling. In fact, no time at all. Once again, Dawn was patrolling on her own. 

While she enjoyed the quiet time to just be herself, she found herself growing increasingly annoyed and suspicious. Surely it wasn't natural for them to be around so much. Tohru, of course, was delighted, and didn't suspect a thing. She was so happy to have all her friends around to care for, and cooked endless treats for them. Even the bratty Hiro made an appearance, and spent three hours slyly insulting an increasingly flustered Tohru, before Dawn put him in his place with a few well-chosen words about how _small_ he truly was. Those words had gone straight over Tohru and Kisa's heads, but everyone else, including the insufferable little brat, understood just what she was referring to.

But now...it had been three weeks since Golden Week, and almost a month since she'd revealed Tohru was a Slayer. It couldn't be coincidence anymore. In fact, she knew it wasn't. She'd seen the sly looks Kyo and Yuki exchanged every evening as it got late, too late for Tohru to go out without the other Sohmas wondering where she was going.

Finally, one clear, cool evening that would have been perfect for Slaying, she'd had enough. She stormed out into the back garden, since if she stayed inside a moment longer she was going to scream. She lay on her back in the grass, savouring the chance to be alone.

Someone's feet crunched beside her head, then a long, lean form sat down.

"You like looking at the stars too, huh?" Momiji settled himself so he was lying beside her.

"They have a lot to say," Dawn replied calmly. "The stories are so interesting, and they tell us so much about human nature."

"There's a very interesting story about the moon, actually. It's one of my favourites."

"Tell it to me," Dawn requested, although she had some idea of the story he spoke about.

Softly, Momiji told the story in his clear, melodic voice. "A long time ago, a rabbit, a monkey, a fox and a coot decided to become hermits-"

"What's a coot?" Dawn interrupted, frowning.

"A type of duck, I believe. They decided to live together, after vowing never to kill a living thing. **Kami-sama** saw their vow, and decided to test them. He took on the shape of a poor, wandering man, and went first to the monkey, begging him for food.

"'Please, **Saru-san**,' he said, 'I am very hungry, for I have travelled far, with little succour. Do you have any food you can spare?' The monkey nodded, and soon returned with a bunch of mangoes for Kami-sama.

"The monkey having passed the test, Kami-sama made his way to the next animal, the coot.

"'Please, **Kamo-san**,' he begged. 'I am a weary, hungry traveller, with no food. Can you spare me some?'

"The coot presented him with some fish a fisherman had left on the bank, and he too passed the test, so Kami-sama moved on to the fox.

"He said to the fox, 'Please, **Kitsune-san**, I am a traveller who has gone without food for a long time. Can you spare me some?' The fox, being very intelligent, immediately went in search of food, and found an abandoned pail of milk and some dried fruit that had been abandoned by a herdsman.

"Now, only the rabbit was left. Kami-sama found him, and begged him for alms. The rabbit was troubled.

"'Friend,' he said, 'I eat only grass, which I think is no good for you.'

"Kami-sama replied, 'why, **Usagi-san**, if you are a true hermit, you can give me your own flesh in hope of future happiness.'

"The rabbit agreed immediately, so anxious was he to help this poor, weary traveller. 'Very well,' he said, 'my body is yours to do with what you will.'

"'In that case, Usagi-san, I will build a fire, and you can jump straight in. This will save me the trouble of killing you.' Kami-sama did just that, and soon the fire was ready. The rabbit jumped in.

"Suddenly, just as he reached it, the fire vanished, and Kami-sama transformed from the hermit into himself. He gathered the rabbit into his arms.

"'You were willing to give your life for a lonely traveller you did not know. This is an amazing thing, and for your unselfishness, I will give you a place in the sky, so all may remember you.'

"And that is why we see **Usagi-chan** in the moon."

Dawn turned on her side to look at him, taking in the soft smile on his face. She had a suspicion...maybe he hadn't hugged Kagura tight enough to trigger the curse...because she was sure... "You're the rabbit, aren't you," she said softly.

Momiji blinked, moving so he faced her. "How do you know about that?" he asked curiously.

Dawn smiled. "I bumped into Kyo, and then they told me. I suppose they figured I spend so much time with Tohru, I'd find out eventually."

"Why don't Hana and Uo know, then? They've been Tohru's friends for much longer," Momiji pointed out, his voice full of menace.

"Because...well, Tohru and I have a secret that means I spend a lot of time with her. They couldn't just get rid of me, I know some pretty powerful people," Dawn said, skating over the truth as best she could without lying. She couldn't lie to Momiji. It'd be like kicking a puppy.

"I won't ask you, then. It's obviously not your secret to tell." Momiji looked sad. Obviously, he was kept out of the loop a lot. Probably because of his fun loving nature.

"I'm sure Tohru wouldn't mind telling you. If I can ever get her alone, that is," Dawn said sourly.

"Yes, Tohru's rather like Usagi-chan, isn't she," the blonde grinned. "She always devotes herself utterly to others."

"You're in love with her." For some reason, that piece of knowledge really hurt.

Slowly, Momiji nodded his head, then shook it. "No," he said. "I was once, but now...I think I've found someone just as selfless, someone who's more my type." He smiled shyly, reaching out for her hand.

Dawn smiled back, and took it. She shouldn't be doing this, shouldn't be fraternising, especially with someone younger than her...or older, depending on who you asked. It was sort of frowned upon. But she liked Momiji a lot; enough that she really wanted to see where this went. Funnily enough, this decision made her feel better. She'd been the old Dawn for so long...but now she finally felt like herself. She finally felt like she was getting somewhere.

End Chapter 15

**Kami-sama:** God

**Saru-san:** Mr. Monkey

**Kamo-san:** Mr. Duck

**Kitsune-san:** Mr. Fox

**Usagi-san:** Mr. Rabbit

**Usagi-chan:** Rabbit (affectionate)


	17. Chapter 16

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Mizuno Kyoko.

Author's Notes:** I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year!**

Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

--------------------------

It took another week, but Dawn finally got Tohru alone after school. Kyo had training and Yuki had student council duties, so they couldn't insist that Tohru head straight home. And so, feeling smug, Dawn took Tohru over to her place instead. Once they were settled with tea and biscuits, she broached the topic of telling Momiji her secret. "He's pretty observant, I think he's close to figuring it out, anyway," she finished. 

Tohru pursed her lips, seeming to think it over. "I think you're right," she said slowly. "Momiji is very smart...he figured out what was wrong with Kisa straight away, and he knew just how she felt."

"What was wrong with Kisa?" Dawn asked, frowning. The little girl seemed okay to her, a bit quiet, perhaps, and yes, terrible taste in guys, but not horribly ill or anything.

"Oh, I forgot you wouldn't know about that." Tohru launched into the story, and Dawn found herself becoming very angry.

Something similar had happened to her in Watcher Training. She'd been younger than most of the applicants, and had some 'strange ideas', such as her theories on why Faith went bad. Of course when she voiced her opinion during her training, the other trainee Watchers had told her to stop being ridiculous. So she'd never mentioned it again, too scared of being laughed at.

She was like Kisa in a way, Dawn realised suddenly.

_"They teased her because she looked strange."_

Dawn's eyes were strange. So green and bright. And she was too tall.

_"Every time she opened her mouth they laughed."_

The Watchers had laughed at her theories. And so had the Scoobies, so many times.

_"Until one day, she couldn't say anything at all. She couldn't speak. She was just too scared."_

No matter what, she could never speak out against Buffy; never tell her sister how she really felt. She was so scared of being left behind again...she was always left behind.

Maybe that was the reason she was so scared about letting Tohru patrol, even though she knew it was best, and was so annoyed with the Sohmas for keeping her from it. Deep down, she was worried Tohru wouldn't need her anymore, that she'd be shipped back to Italy to languish, awkwardly trying to reconnect with the woman who wasn't really her sister.

Why did her life have to be so confusing? Why couldn't she just be satisfied with what she had? She always looked for the worse case scenario, for what would go wrong next. It was ridiculous and silly.

"That's just horrible," she said softly. "How could they?"

"I don't know." Tohru's expressive eyes were full of tears, and her chin wobbled dangerously.

"Hey, none of that. You said Kisa fixed it, remember?" Gently, Dawn gave her Slayer a hug. Poor thing, she was so sensitive to the world around her. It was unbearably cute and refreshing, but Dawn was the kind who, when her friends were crying, joined in. She just couldn't help it, and found it irritating.

Tohru sniffled. "Yes. Haru and Yuki...they reminded her how many good qualities she had, and how much they loved her. It helped her so much."

'_And I'm sure you had nothing to do with it, whatsoever,_' Dawn thought, amused. More than likely, Tohru had petted and cooed over the little girl, which certainly explained Kisa's devotion. She had to resist the urge to hug Tohru again.

"Let's patrol," she proposed, needing to get rid of her energy somehow. Besides, Tohru needed to keep in practice.

"All right."

----------------------

Dawn cut Maths the next day so she could chat with Momiji. She needed to arrange a time to meet with him and Tohru, so they could reveal the truth. She liked Momiji...a lot. And she didn't want to lie to him. Lying led to badness, and demons, and loss of friendships. Not to mention broken arms. He was on the roof, it seemed to be a trait he shared with Kyo, that he liked sitting up there. Dawn had to admit, it was kinda peaceful, just you and the sky.

"Hey," she said, sitting down beside him on the concrete and covering his hand with hers.

"Heya Dawnie," the blonde greeted, and squeezed her hand, blushing as he did so.

"Dawnie?" Dawn questioned, amused. She wasn't really surprised; Momiji seemed to have a propensity for using nicknames. And at least Dawnie was one she was used to.

Momiji shrugged, smiling enigmatically. The shadowed light on his cheekbones made him look a lot like a blonde Haru for a moment, then he was himself again, the smile slightly cheeky, instead of just mysterious. "What's up?" he asked.

"You doing anything tonight?"

"No. Why, you want to have a date?"

"Do you do karate too?" She avoided the question, delighting in the frustrated look that came into his brown eyes.

"Yes, we all do it together, even Kisa! Akito insists on it. I like karate, it's great exercise and really fun!" His face lit up as he spoke, and Dawn smiled. It was nice to see a normal person who enjoyed martial arts. She wanted nothing more than to hug the blonde, suddenly overcome with affection for him, and felt rather resentful that she couldn't. If she - who only liked Momiji - hated the constrictions of the curse, what must Tohru and Kyo be going through? Was that why they hadn't even broached the subject with one another?

She bit her lip, making a promise to herself, then and there. She would help them get around this. They deserved happiness.

"Dawn? Are you all right?" Momiji asked softly. The look on his face reminded her of his expression when he told her about the rabbit in the moon. It was introspective, and way too observant.

She nodded. "Fine, just thinking. Tohru and I have to work tonight, but why don't you come walk us home? You know where we work, right?"

"I can do one better!" Momiji said excitedly. "Papa owns the building you work in! I can come visit him." He beamed at her, obviously pleased with his plan.

Dawn grinned back. "That'd be good." She rested her head on his shoulder, enjoying the view.

"Did you have a free, then?" he asked finally.

"Naw, ditched." She shrugged casually. She laughed at the boy's shocked expression. "We're not all as study-conscious as Tohru, you know." She tickled his side gently.

Momiji snickered, and squirmed away from her fingers, the action bringing him closer to her. They looked into one another's eyes for a moment, then, slowly, Momiji lowered his head towards hers.

"Oi!"

They jumped apart, turning as one to face the intrusion.

Kyo scowled at them. "You have class, Dawn."

"So do you," Dawn pointed out tightly, only just reigning in her temper. She felt like slapping Kyo silly. "Hypocrite."

Kyo's face went red, and his hair seemed to stand on end. He looked like a cat who'd just escaped the bathtub.

"Shut up! I am not!"

"So are. Puss in boots. I can do whatever I want." She smiled to soften the teasing. "You needed to get out of there, too, huh?" she asked sympathetically.

Surprised, the orange-haired youth nodded. "Too close," he grumbled.

"Yeah, it can get a bit like that," Dawn agreed.

The bell went, and further distracted Kyo, so Dawn didn't have to field any questions as to what they'd been talking about. Instead, the cat hurried off, leaving Momiji and Dawn alone again.

The dark-haired American sighed. Now she didn't know what to do. The mood was gone, but she still wanted to kiss him with a desperation that surprised her. She hadn't felt this way since the cursed jacket, and yet, this felt real in a way that fiasco never had.

But they wouldn't get a chance to kiss, now. The stairs clattered as everyone came up to join them, even Arisa and Saki, who'd begun to sit with them after their trip.

Wordlessly, Tohru dropped a sheaf of notes in Dawn's lap.

"What's this?" Dawn asked, looking at them curiously.

"Notes. You weren't in Maths." Tohru smiled dazzlingly.

The American pulled her into a rough hug, touched by her thoughtfulness.

End Chapter 16


	18. Chapter 17

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Mizuno Kyoko.

Author's Notes:** I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year!**

Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

--------------------------

They finished work at around ten that night, relatively early, in fact, but Momiji was already there and waiting for them. 

"HIHI!" The blonde waved at the pair of them, bouncing up and down. "How are you both this evening?" He beamed as he linked arms with both girls.

"Good, Momiji, how are you?" Tohru asked. "What are you doing here?"

The smile on the Momiji's face flickered. "Dawn said we should meet to discuss whatever secret it is you're keeping...but if you didn't know..."

"Oh! No, I did! Dumb Tohru just forgot!" She knocked herself on the head, blushing. "I'm soooo sorry for forgetting, Momiji!"

"Tohru, stop doing that," Dawn said sharply, at the same time as Momiji said

"Silly Toh-ru, you have lots on your mind, it's okay!"

Attacked from both sides with such adamant and warm denials, Tohru couldn't help but blush a very pretty pink.

"Um...all right...uh...where should we go?" she asked.

"How about that pancake house where I first explained things to you, Tohr? It's neutral ground for all of us, and, as a bonus, I know the way there." Dawn grinned.

"That sounds good, let's do that. I like pancakes!" Momiji agreed. The trio trooped into the employee lounge, so Dawn and Tohru could get their coats.

"Momiji? Is that you?" A soft voice asked.

Dawn watched with some interest as the happy smile on Momiji's face faded away, and he quickly replaced it with a polite look. She turned to look at the speaker, and was surprised at the amount of resemblance between them. This must be Momiji's mother, then. They had the same blonde hair, brown eyes, and pale skin. Clutching the woman's skirts was a titchy girl with the same hair and eyes, who looked to be around five.

"**Hai**. How are you, Mrs. Sohma?" Momiji asked.

"I am well, Momiji, and you? What are you doing here so late? Your parents will be worried."

"Oh, no, it's all right. I'm with Tohru and Dawn. Papa _und_ Mama say I am allowed to hang out with them." His voice wavered slightly on 'mama'.

"Oh, yes, this must be the girl I've heard so much about." The woman smiled gently at Tohru, and it was Momiji's introspective smile. "How are you, dear?"

"**Un**...I am very well, Mrs. Sohma." Tohru bowed quickly. "Thank you for asking."

"I don't believe I know you." One arched blonde brow raised.

"Dawn Summers." Dawn bowed. "I'm Momiji's girlfriend." She took the rabbit's hand, squeezing it tightly. Poor Momiji, he looked very uncomfortable, and she wanted greatly to alleviate his discomfort. It was strange, then, that this woman wasn't his mother. They looked so alike. Maybe she was his aunt...but that still didn't excuse the formality between the two when they spoke. Momiji was so affectionate with everyone.

"Is that so? Well, I'm very glad, Momiji is a lovely boy." She checked her watch. "Oh dear, we've detained you long enough, and now we're late to meet Papa. Come along, Momo." She swept out of the room.

Momo lingered for a moment, smiling shyly at them all. "**Ja ne, Momiji-kun** //See you, Momiji// (affectionate)," she whispered, before running after her mother, for all the world like a little duckling.

Tohru sighed, shrugging into her coat. "Oh dear, Momiji, are you all right?" she asked in concern.

Momiji's shoulders were slumped, but he nodded. "_Ja_, I am fine, Tohru. It was a surprise seeing Mama here. Papa will not be happy with me."

"Oh...kay...uh, it looks like we have more to talk about than I thought. Maybe we should go back to my place instead. At least there we can be ensured complete privacy," Dawn suggested, her head spinning from all of the revelations.

--------------------------

Once again, Dawn was seated at her table with Tohru and a member of the Jyuunishi in order to explain her Slayer's strange behaviour. However, this time she considered the particular Jyuunishi to be not only a very close friend of her own, but also a far more level headed and quick thinking person than either the rat or the cat.

"How do you want to do this?" Dawn asked. "Do you want the short story, with footnotes, or the long story?"

"Long, please. We have all night, since tomorrow isn't a school day. And I think it'll be easier to understand if I hear everything." It was a surprisingly mature statement from the rabbit, if you hadn't seen him at his introspective best.

"Okay then." Drawing a deep breath, the Key to the World began the age-old explanation. "The world is older than you know...

"After the defeat of the First Evil for the second time, most of the Slayers and the Scoobies scattered around the world. My sister and I went first to England to be with Giles, and then to Italy, where I was supposed to complete my education, while being my sister's Watcher. Xander is in Africa, sourcing and teaching the new Slayers there. Willow and Giles are in England teaching Slayers, and Faith heads the main Slayer School in Cleveland. We check in with one another regularly, and I think Buffy is visiting Giles and Wills at the moment."

"Hmmm...where does Tohru come into this?" Momiji asked, accepting her explanations with nary a murmur. "I know Akito had something to do with your Council, and I'm glad to hear you guys have changed hands since then. And it explains why he was so angry after you and Tohru visited."

"Tohru is involved because she's a Slayer. She was Called when Willow activated all the Potentials. I'm here as her Watcher. I was approached early this year by the only Watcher we have in Japan, who told me that she didn't want to Watch anymore, but that she had located a Slayer who needed to be trained. Since I am still of school age, and don't currently have a Slayer - Buffy doesn't really need a Watcher, she's a Veteran Slayer anyway - I was given the position."

"Hmm..." Momiji stood up. "I need to consider this, before I say something I regret."

"**Chotto matte kudasai!** //Please, wait a moment!//" Tohru lunged across the table, grabbing Momiji's hand to stop him from leaving. "Momiji, don't leave! What Dawn hasn't mentioned is that I _agreed_ to be a Slayer! It wasn't something that could be forced on me, not anymore! And I like being a Slayer, I really do! I'm making a difference in the world, just by existing, and I'm sure Mother would be so proud of me! Momiji, please don't reject Dawn because she came here to do her job! In the past few months she has become one of my closest friends, and all the time I have known that she came here solely to be my Watcher!"

Dawn started at this lie, but didn't want to interrupt, and so remained silent. The outcome of this conversation would dictate whether or not she could actually be Momiji's girlfriend. If he couldn't accept her as a Watcher, he'd never accept her as the Key. And she couldn't keep such a huge secret from her boyfriend.

"She's a wonderful, kind, considerate person, and she cares about me so, so much! I know if she were just a regular exchange student I would still want to be her friend! Even if I were to somehow stop being a Slayer tomorrow, I know she would always be my friend, anyway. Please...don't hate me, Momiji. I care about you so much. I don't want to lose your friendship."

"I could never hate you, Tohru." The love the blonde had for the Slayer was never more evident on his face than at that moment. "And...I guess I was being a bit pre-emptive." He sat down again. "Is there more?"

Dawn nodded. "Since I arrived here I've been training Tohru to fight the bumps in the night. We've been patrolling a few times...actually, that night at the restaurant, when I spilled my tea all over myself, I was going to help Tohru stake a vamp."

Slowly, Momiji nodded. "Who?"

"Did you notice the couple that came in while we were there? The guy was a vamp."

"So that's why the girl looked so upset and was left alone." Momiji rested his chin on his hand. "It was a good diversion, spilling tea on yourself. Didn't it hurt?"

"Eh, a little. But it was for a good cause."

"Don't lie, Dawn! You had blisters all over your thighs!" Tohru objected.

Dawn shrugged, uncomfortable. "A small price to pay. They're all gone, anyway, so it doesn't matter."

"To go to such lengths to keep a secret is truly admirable, Dawn. I feel I can trust you with mine." The blonde took a deep breath, and began, his eyes on the table.

"You know that the Jyuunishi transform when hugged by the opposite sex, if they aren't a member of the Jyuunishi themselves, yes?"

Dawn nodded, the mystery of Kagura and Momiji suddenly taking on a new twist.

"Well, because of this, I was born in animal form. Mothers of members of the Jyuunishi either completely reject or are very over protective of their children, in some form. Mama was one of the former. She could not deal with me being who I am.

"All Jyuunishi are born early, at least two months. Can you imagine how petrified a new mother would be when her child is born early? And then, to find out you have given birth to an animal instead of the baby you have longed for...well, I understand why she couldn't accept me.

"She was depressed, and tried to kill herself many times. Finally, she asked that Hatori remove her memories of me. Hatori asked her if she would regret it, and she told him the only thing she regretted was that 'that creature' had come out of her body."

Everyone's eyes were full of tears, and Dawn had to clutch the table to keep from hugging him. Instinctively, she knew there was more to the story.

"I heard her say all this, because I was right outside the room. Papa asked me if it would be okay. He said it would make Mama better, and that he would be sure to love me twice as much to make up for it. How could I say no? Mama was very sick. So Hatori removed her memories of me. Soon, Mama began to smile again. And then, she began to laugh. Eventually, she gave birth to Momo." Momiji smiled fondly. "She's so beautiful and little. She follows Mama everywhere! And she plays violin, just like me. She's very good."

"Wow, Momiji..." Dawn grabbed his hand. "That's horrible..." She made note of Hatori's ability to make people lose their memories, promising she'd look it up. She had to find a way to combat that if at all possible. She didn't want to lose her memories; they were so precious to her. "Why didn't you ask to forget your Mama? Then the thoughts wouldn't cause you pain."

"Even though those memories hurt me, they made me who I am today. I wouldn't be who I am without them. Even though it makes me very sad, I would rather remember those things, because each memory is precious to me."

Dawn nodded. "I know what you mean. I have lots of memories that cause me pain, but at the same time, they make me stronger. I wouldn't want to forget anything, either."

They gazed at one another across the table, and once again, Dawn had the urge to kiss him. This time, however, there was a table between them, and Tohru was present. It seemed like the entire universe was conspiring against them.

Sighing, she looked at her watch, letting out a shocked squeal. It was almost three o'clock! They'd been talking for nearly five hours!

"Okay, you two are staying over tonight," the American said firmly. "It's way too late to go anywhere. Tohru can sleep with me, and you can have the couch, Momiji." She smiled teasingly. "I'll even make pancakes in the morning."

End Chapter 17

**Hai**: Yes

**Un**: One of the ways of saying Um in Japanese


	19. Chapter 18

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.

Author's Notes: Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

* * *

Having Momiji in the know turned out to be a very good thing. For one thing, he was quite willing to distract the other Sohmas so that Tohru and Dawn could slip out for a quick patrol, and then come back without anyone really noticing. They didn't have to patrol every night, there were barely any vamps, for one thing, and for another Tohru didn't have the same killing instinct most Slayers did. It was refreshing for Dawn, who didn't really have that kind of drive, either.

She'd noticed, however, that in place of the killer instinct, Tohru had something far better (in her unbiased opinion, anyway). No Slayer, not even Buffy, could sense Dawn just by closing her eyes. Buffy had to touch her, and most Slayers had to be touching her skin. But Tohru closed her eyes, and identified the Key inside Dawn straight away. That was pretty amazing, insofar as the young Watcher was concerned.

The other great thing about Momiji is that if he went with them, they could say they were going for ice cream. No one else really enjoyed ice cream with Momiji (except for Kisa, but she was too polite to ask to come along), so it was a great way to get out without being noticed.

All in all, Dawn was getting pretty comfortable with the way things were. She was the Watcher, the Giles. Tohru had her Scoobies in the form of Yuki, Kyo and, to a lesser extent, Momiji. She finally felt like she was in a place where she knew what the status quo was.

So of course something had to happen to screw it all up.

It all started because Dawn decided to begin the steps needed to bring Kyo and Tohru together. Unfortunately, she hadn't realised Kagura had a very violent crush on Kyo, and when she mentioned to the seemingly quiet brunette that she thought Kyo and Tohru fancied one another, Kagura went a little nuts.

It just so happened that it was also a Tuesday, so Kyo was outside training when Kagura went crazy. And Tohru was, of course, watching him, since she wanted to pick up some of those moves herself.

"WHAT?!" The slender brunette jumped to her feet, knocking over both the table, and the teapot and teacups resting on it. Dawn stifled a cry of pain as the scalding liquid hit her in the face and chest, before she moved out of the way.

"HOW. DARE. HE. CHEAT. ON. ME!!" Kagura roared, before racing outside, without bothering to open the door. "KYO!"

Dawn followed her out at a slower pace, sliding the ruined door out of the way, so as not to damage it further.

Startled, the orange-haired boy half turned, before, in a fluid movement, he was on the defensive. And it was a good thing, too, since Kagura began actually attacking him.

If it weren't for her Slayer heritage, Dawn might have found the blows hard to follow. As it was, she could see that Kagura was winning, partly because she seemed to be in a Berserker mode, and partly because it was obvious that Kyo didn't want to hurt her. All the while, Kagura screamed obscenities, chastising him for cheating on her 'because you're my one true love, and no one will ever love you the way I do, my darling!'

Until it began to rain. The clouds had been threatening for days, and everyone had been crabby because of the muggy weather. With the rain came a sense of relief, and coolness. Kyo's movements became more streamlined, and more deadly, his blocks more consistent. He looked to be winning, and his eyes shone with a strange light, his teeth bared in anger.

"Oh dear," Tohru whimpered.

"What?" Dawn asked.

"The rain isn't going to help things. In fact, it's going to make things worse."

"What do you mean?"

Dawn's question was answered a moment later, when Kagura ripped off Kyo's bracelet.

"No one else will ever love your true self, Kyo!" She screeched angrily, beads scattering everywhere.

On instinct, Dawn caught two, one white, the other black. She watched in horror, and surprise, as the teenager she knew as Kyo Sohma transformed into a monster. It was something like a cat in the shape of its face, but the smell and general aura surrounding him said demon. He was, in fact, the sort of demon Dawn would likely have killed on sight, once upon a time. He was around seven feet tall, and had purple eyes, and orange skin. He howled in desperation and pain, the sound one no human could conceivably make. Then, after looking around at the three girls, he crashed off into the woods.

"Oh no! I didn't mean to..." Kagura stared at the remains of the bracelet in her hand. "What happened?"

"You turned into a psycho!" Dawn yelled at her angrily. "Go take a Prozac! I'm going after Kyo."

"Me too!" Tohru exclaimed, leaping to her feet. "I've been through this with him before."

"You mean this was supposed to happen?" Dawn cried as they ran through the woods, following the trail of destruction.

"Well, sort of," the Slayer admitted miserably. "That is, it happens if it's raining and his bracelet comes off. It's just another factor of the Curse that the Cat must deal with. It's the reason they're considered a monster, and often blamed for things that aren't their fault. Kyo...at the end of this year he will be locked up, if he can't beat Yuki. That's why they fight so much, you know. I think if there wasn't this hanging between them, they might be friends."

Dawn thought about that for a moment. "Mmm," she said non-comitally. The closest she could imagine to friendship between Yuki and Kyo was a sort of snarky banter like the one Xander and Spike had shared between them. She couldn't imagine actual friendship, though. Still, they were family, which meant they automatically loved one another, anyway. They just didn't _like_ one another.

"His father blamed him because his mum committed suicide, you know," Tohru continued angrily. "I can't understand how he could think that! And poor Kyo...he honestly believes it's his fault, too. All the Sohmas do, to some extent. He's been through so much...and the only person who ever loved him unconditionally was his Sensei. That's not the way it should be."

"His Sensei isn't the only person, Tohru," Dawn told her. "You love him unconditionally, too."

Tohru blushed. "He's easy to love."

"Yes, he is," Dawn agreed. "But your love is different from mine, Tohr. Don't forget that. You need to make a move, honey. He won't wait forever."

"What do you mean?"

Dawn was saved from the question she couldn't really answer by the sight in front of them. They'd broken through the forest, now, and on the other side was a river. Lying on the sand was the monster Kyo had become.

Making a small sound of distress, Tohru ran to his side. She pulled his head into her chest, tears filling her aquamarine eyes.

Slowly, the green-eyed American followed. She sat down by Kyo's head, ignoring the way he jerked away from her. "So," she said calmly, "why did you run?"

"Are you crazy?! Stupid **gaijin**, _look at me! I'm a monster!_" The words were barely recognisable coming from the foreign voice box.

"I am looking. You don't seem very monster-like to me," Dawn said, even though she'd been categorising him that way. "You haven't tried to crack me open and drink my fluids yet, nor have you removed my soul from my body and used it as a bouncy ball. And you haven't sacrificed me to any gods, either. So I'm going with 'Not Monster'."

"_JUST LOOK AT ME!!_"

"I am. Yes, you aren't all cuddly now, like you are as a kitty cat. But..." she reached out, tracing the sharp edge of his cheekbone. "Looks don't denote what we are. The worst monsters I've ever met are the ones who look the most human." She paused, debating whether or not to share her secrets with him. Eventually, she decided she had to tell him something, if only to illustrate her point.

"As you know, I'm a witch. What I didn't tell you is I'm pretty powerful." She closed her eyes. "My father told me once that I have enough power to crack the planet in half like an egg and scramble the insides. A-and one of my sister's closest friends once tried to destroy the world, and would have done it, had another friend not stopped her. Wills and I look like ordinary human girls, but we aren't. I've seen your heart, Kyo. Trust me; I'm more of a monster than you'll ever be, no matter what anyone says."

The look in his purple eyes said he didn't believe her.

"Bloody everlasting hell," Dawn cried, adopting one of Giles' more colourful phrases to replace the cussing she knew would have Tohru turning the exact same shade as a tomato. "Look, believe me or don't believe me, that's your freakin' prerogative! But don't go pulling the self-pity schtick with me, Mister! Not when I've completely absolved you of all guilt insofar as I'm concerned! Now hop up out of the gloomy gutter Sir McCrankey Pants and stop making me feel bad!"

Tohru giggled a little nervously. "He needs his bracelet back," she said.

It was something of a non sequitur, but Dawn sort of understood what she was saying. Obviously, the bracelet was a kind of amulet that stopped this from happening. She took the two beads out of her pocket, and nicked Tohru's ribbon from her hair. Putting the two beads onto the slender white piece of silk, she looped it around Kyo's orange wrist, noting that his skin was warm, dry, and very, very thin. An inaudible word and a wave of her hand, and the beads multiplied, forming the black and white pattern they were all familiar with.

With a muffled **POOF**! Kyo changed into a cat.

Laughing, Dawn stood up. "It should last just as long as your original bracelet," she told him, feeling a craving for sugar come over her. Her adrenaline was receding, and using magick always took a lot out of her. "Now that we've gotten then sorted out, let's go back. We're all soaked, and in need of hot chocolate."

End Chapter 18

**Gaijin**: Very insulting word for a foreigner. Quite literally means 'Outside Person'.


	20. Chapter 19

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.

Author's Notes: Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

--

"THIS IS INEXCUSABLE!" Akito roared at his assistant, throwing an expensive vase at the taller man.

Kureno dodged, unconcerned. "What is, Akito?" he asked calmly.

"That _American_! She's still spending time with them, and what's more, the boys aren't even opposed to her anymore! She's brainwashed the entire family!" The temperamental young man's face turned ashen, and he suddenly collapsed. "Get Hatori," he gasped. "I need Hatori!"

Nodding quickly, Kureno ran from the room. Dawn Summers was truly causing a lot of trouble. He didn't want to be around when it all blew up in their faces.

--

Dawn grinned as she watched Tohru watch Kyo. Once again he was practicing his katas, and once again the young Slayer couldn't take her eyes off of him. It was likely that no one would notice the slight flush on Tohru's pale cheeks, or the way her cerulean eyes followed the orange-haired boy's every movement. No one, that is, but Dawn, who was looking for it, could see the intense look of concentration on Kyo's face as he tried not to do something stupid.

The American girl giggled. It seemed Kyo always did something idiotic when he was feeling awkward around Tohru. She'd heard all about the way Tohru found out about Kyo, Shigure and Yuki were cursed, and the botched apology, and the walk home. It amused the hell out of her.

Kagura sighed rather forlornly from beside her.

"What?" Dawn snapped coldly, turning to glare at the older girl. "I hope you aren't planning on beating them both to a bloody pulp and exposing anymore secrets. We've had enough of that for one week."

"No! I...I feel horrible," Kagura said miserably. "I've always let my temper get the better of me, even as a little girl. And I always thought Kyo and I would one day be together, that he'd realise he loved me as much as I do him. I just assumed...no one could love that much without being loved back."

"They have a word for it. Unrequited." Dawn immediately regretted her cold words when Kagura gave a strangled sob, burying her face in her hands.

"I'm such an idiot!" She wailed softly, trying not to disturb Tohru and Kyo. "He's going to h-hate me forever a-and there's nothing I c-can do because I deser-erve it!!"

"Darn tooting you do. But...hey, it's not all bad. I mean, you're going back to university next month. Maybe you could get yourself transferred?" Dawn offered awkwardly. "Or...maybe apologise. That's probably a good idea."

"I'd like to apologise...but..." Kagura turned sad eyes on the pair. Kyo was awkwardly taking Tohru through a set of basic katas, his cheeks slightly pink. "Somehow, I don't think I should talk to him for a while."

"You're right, it probably isn't the best idea." They watched in silence for a few minutes. "What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know...I suppose I'll go away for a while." The young woman looked at her lap, hands fisting in the fabric of her skirt. "I still love him, you know. I probably always will."

"Yeah, you will. Let me tell you a story about my sister Buffy. She was in love with this guy named Angel, who was a bit of a piece of work. Nice enough, but something happened. Some old family of his came back, and encouraged him to get into his old ways, ways he'd given up. See, Angel was a bit of a bully in his time, before he went too far and ended up regretting it. Unfortunately, he reverted back to them, and gave Buffy a real hard time. He tormented her, really, and just after she'd confessed her eternal love for him in the most intimate way possible. You know what I'm talking about, yeah?"

Kagura nodded. "They made love."

"Exactly. Anyway, it really hurt and confused Buffy that Angel changed so quickly afterwards. She blamed herself, and took all the bad things he did to heart as attacks against her. Eventually, he wised up, stopped hanging around the wrong people, and apologised. Buffy forgave him, but didn't forget.

"They'll always love one another in a tiny bit of their hearts, and their blood will always scream for the other person, even though they've moved on. But it doesn't hurt them any more; they can be friends, now. They both know things have changed too much.

"The way I see it, you're always going to love Kyo. You've loved him too long to change. But you don't have to make every decision based on whether or not Kyo will love you back. You're a stunning woman, 'Gura. Let someone in, even if just for a moment. You'll find the person you're meant to be with, I know you will."

Kagura blushed at the compliments. "I think I will, Dawn. Thank you," she said softly. "You're truly an amazing person, you know that?"

Dawn shook her head, her own skin turning red. "Nah. It's just that I'm outside the picture, so I can see the whole thing, that's all. You're too close to see what to do."

--

"You will do it for me, Hatori," a pale hand stroked Hatori's cheek, long fingers tangling in the man's green-black hair. "She's a nuisance, a troublesome witch out to ruin us. You will rid her of her memories, and send her back to where she came from. Understood?"

Helpless, Hatori nodded. "I understand."

End Chapter 19


	21. Chapter 20

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.

Author's Notes: I am so sorry for how long this has taken. I've had a bad few months; boyfriend dumped me, chopped off the top of my finger, and landlord kicked me out of my flat...so I've been kind of busy with life. Sorry!!

Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

* * *

Two weeks passed in a flurry of study for midterms, actually _taking_ the midterms, and then beginning to train for inter-school sports. Tohru had joined the track team along with Dawn, and they spent a lot of time running around the school looking dishevelled, and having an excellent time doing it.

Because of Tohru's Slayer drive, and Dawn's cultivated fitness the laps didn't tire them out that much, but it was good training for Tohru, and a good way for them to debrief about the previous night's slayage without being heard.

Then, after training, Yuki would go to his school council meetings (there seemed to be a lot of those, most of them mysteriously involving only Yuki and some chick with dirty blonde hair), and Kyo dragged Tohru along to the dojo so they could train together. This left Dawn time to chat with Momiji, and they often went to the markets and strolled along arm in arm, neither buying anything, just happy to be in one another's presence. Other times, they went to the park and played on the roundabout, and the swings.

They were at the park now, swinging gently and talking about how they'd first met Tohru, what she'd done for them.

"I was stationed here to become her friend, you know," Dawn kicked at the dirt idly. "But it wasn't like that...the minute I saw her I adored her. She's such a sweet little thing. Didn't even get angry that I was horning in on her shift, or her jobs. Just helped me out, and became my friend instantly." She smiled nostalgically.

"I'd heard all about her before I met her at the school fair. She was helping to run the onigiri stand, and she was so surprised when I turned into a rabbit after I hugged her, but so nice, too." Momiji grinned.

"She is that." Dawn swung a little faster, tipping her head back to look at the bright blue sky. "Ooh, let's have a jumping contest!" she suggested. "See who can get the furthest!"

"Okay!"

They both pumped their legs as hard as they could, and, when the time felt right, Dawn launched herself out, managing to land in a graceful crouch about ten feet away. Momiji let out a startled yell, as he landed on top of her.

Giggling, Dawn rolled, so he was underneath her. He fought back, pinning her body to the ground, her hands held tightly against the dirt with his. Dawn's laughter faded away with a hiccup as she looked up into his big amber eyes. She swallowed; eyes flicking down to his mouth then back again. Momiji did the same.

Slowly, so slowly it was almost an imperceptible movement, he lowered his head.

"Well, what have we here. The American and Momiji. Isn't that interesting, Kisa," Hiro's snide voice said.

With a groan, Momiji and Dawn split apart. Dawn glared at the newcomers, her lips tingling from the almost-kiss. Dammit, that just wasn't fair! It was like the whole world was conspiring against her!

"What do you want?" she snapped, sparing a pleasant smile for Kisa.

"Hatori told me to tell you that Akito wants to see you. Make some time in your oh so busy swinging schedule will you? The rest of us don't need to deal with the backlash."

Childishly, Dawn poked her tongue out at him. "Yes, princess," she said witheringly.

* * *

Two days later, Dawn walked into the Sohma Compound once again. She'd decided to get the meeting over with as soon as possible. After all, if it were bad news, it'd be a good idea not to piss Akito off even more. And if it were good news, it would be a good idea not to piss Akito off so that he changed it to bad news.

Momiji met her at the gate again, his amber eyes worried. "Are you sure you'll be okay?" he asked as they began to walk. "I can come in with you if you like..."

"Don't worry, Hatori will be there, remember?" Dawn comforted. "He won't let anything happen to me."

The blonde nodded, smiling. "You're right, of course." He still seemed a bit worried, but Dawn didn't have a chance to ask, she was heading towards late as it was.

"See you later!" She squeezed his hands gently, and walked into the room without knocking.

Akito was by the window, his long fingers caressing a bird gently. Hatori stood next to him, and turned when Dawn came in.

"Good of you to come so promptly, Dawn," the Sohma Head's silky voice wrapped around her sinuously.

Dawn shivered. She didn't like the way he spoke, as though he knew something she didn't. "Well, I'm all about the promptness," she quipped nervously. "What's the deal?"

"You seem to think you can take my family away from me, Dawn. You can't. In fact, you've become such a liability that I need to get rid of you."

"What?" Dawn asked, confused. "You're nuts! I would never-"

"SILENCE!" Akito whirled around, his hair flaring out from his skull, eyes wild.

Dawn did as she was told, shocked.

"YOU ARE, I KNOW YOU ARE!" He shrieked. "I'VE SEEN THE WAY YOU LOOK AT THEM! TWISTING THEIR HEARTS, TURNING THEM AWAY FROM ME!" A slow smile spread across red lips. "But no longer, do you hear me?" he continued calmly. "No longer! I'm going to get rid of you, you cultureless American scum!" He gestured to Hatori. "Do it! Do it now!"

Slowly, Hatori moved forward, his grey eye boring into Dawn's green ones. She was frozen in place. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion, and she couldn't move.

"You're going to lose all your memories of this place, you stupid treacherous girl. And then you're going to go running back to your family, and you'll never touch what's mine again," Akito informed her gleefully.

That eye was still hypnotising her, and she felt as though the world was closing in. Her blood pounded in her ears, and her thoughts flickered, unable to find purchase. '_He can't take..._' trailed through her mind, before a flash of light, and then darkness.

* * *

The girl sat up slowly, and climbed to her feet. How long had she been here? It was so dark outside...

She decided it must have been a while. Maybe she'd been asleep. That was natural; darkness was the time for sleep. She knew that.

But now...now she felt like a walk. Why shouldn't she take a little stroll, anyway? She was entitled to that, and walking was good exercise.

She clambered to her feet, pushing the door open, and slipping on the sneakers that lay outside. They must be hers; after all, they fit perfectly.

As if in a daze, she wandered along the path, no idea where she was going. But that didn't matter, for some reason she felt perfectly calm. Nothing could go wrong, everything was just right. She had an idea that she was supposed to find her family. She didn't know who they were, though, or where.

'_Well,_' she reasoned, '_I might as well keep walking. I'll get somewhere eventually, and somewhere may very well be where my family is._' She nodded decisively at no one, enjoying the feeling of the crisp breeze on her skin.

Eventually she reached the gates, and pushed them open gently, stepping onto the road. A sound blared, and she turned towards it, startled for the first time.

She caught a glimpse of bright lights, and the startled face of someone behind the wheel of a car, and then darkness once more.

End Chapter 20


	22. Chapter 21

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.

Author's Notes: I am so sorry for how long this has taken. I've had a bad few months; boyfriend dumped me, chopped off the top of my finger, and landlord kicked me out of my flat...so I've been kind of busy with life. Sorry!!

Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

* * *

Momiji paced back and forth in his living room anxiously. Dawn had promised to pop in and see him after her meeting with Akito, but that had been six hours ago now. What on Earth could be keeping her?

He had a terrible feeling about this, Akito had been far too smug lately, and the meeting with him and Hatori...it was too suspicious, even for the guileless rabbit to believe. And he didn't want his girlfriend to forget who he was...she was so sweet, and so normal, even with all of the strange things she had brought into their lives. Even though they still hadn't kissed, he cared about her too much to lose her. Especially like this.

Unable to wait any longer, Momiji strode out of his house, and made his way down the path towards Hatori's. He rapped on the door sharply; his agitation clear in the angry tapping.

Slowly, the doctor opened the door. His grey eye was full of sadness. "Mo-"

"You did it...I can't believe you," the rabbit whispered softly, that one syllable enough to tell him everything. "You...how could you?! She knew! She knew everything, Hatori! And she still accepted me! She...she even knew about Mama! You've taken away another person I cared about, another person I loved!"

He hadn't even realised the depth of his feelings for the slender American until he knew he'd lost her. "How long will this go on?!" he shrieked, heedless of the scene he was making, and completely devastated. He couldn't accept this easily, he just couldn't! "How long will we be forced to stand aside as that psychopathic _monster_ destroys this family?!"

"You don't mean that, Momiji. You love me. You have to love me," a soft, silky voice whispered. Slender fingers, strong as iron, clamped around Momiji's wrist. "And now that nasty girl's gone, back to her family. She'll never hurt you by rejecting you now."

The blonde pushed the Head of the Household off roughly, unafraid. He was too angry for any other emotion to make its way in, and too desolate to listen to the voice that told him to obey, to forgive, that Akito was right and all would be well.

"I hate you! I will never listen to you again, Akito! I don't love you! As far as I'm concerned, you're not my family! No one who could let this happen is my family any longer!"

"You have to love me! I am God!" There was genuine fear in Akito's voice.

"No! No you aren't! You're not God and you never will be again!" Whirling around, Momiji raced out of there. Dawn had given him a key to her place when she found out about his mother, saying she was sure he'd need it someday. Maybe he could find her before she left.

--

Nurse Etsuko Sakahima was intrigued by the coma patient in her ward. The young girl had been brought in only two hours ago by the driver of the car that hit her, and had been in a coma ever since, which was somewhat strange considering she had no marks on her head at all. There were lacerations all over her body, she had a complex fracture on her right arm, and there was a lot of bruising, but nothing that suggested a coma.

Yet she lay pale and silent in her bed, long chestnut hair pillowing her head. She'd had a wallet on her, with a little card in it. The card was in English, but Etsuko spoke a little English, and read it better than she spoke it, so she'd been able to translate what it said.

**_Emergency Medical Information_**__

Name: Dawn Marie Summers

Date of Birth: 23rd June 1986

Blood type: A positive

Allergies: None

In the event of an emergency, contact: Buffy Summers, sister.  
0428154744; 

Having finished decoding the message, Etsuko went over to her computer, and began composing a letter to Miss Summers' sister.

**To:**   
**From:**   
**Subject:** Your sister Dawn Summers

_Dear Miss Buffy Summers,_

Please excuse me for writing to you without any previous introduction on our part. I am afraid that I have some bad news for you. Your sister is currently in a coma in our Intensive Care ward. It would be wise if you could make your way here as quickly as possible, so as to fill out the required forms, and give us details of the care you wish for her to have.

Yours respectfully,

Sakahima Etsuko

--

Rupert Giles, Head of the Watchers' Council, and surrogate father of Scoobies and Scrappies alike was getting worried. In fact, he was getting more than worried. His worry had turned into immense concern. Dawn was required to report in once a week, whether that be by email (he'd overcome his computer-fear when Andrew started making nerd-commentary on his emails), or over the phone.

However, there had been no word from her for two weeks now, and before that her reports had been growing shorter and less detailed. Was there some monster she hadn't told anyone about? No, Dawn wasn't that stupid...and there were no apocalypses planned for a while yet. So what was going on? What could possibly have distracted her this much?

A scream of terror and anguish from Buffy's study had him jumping to his feet, all thoughts of his youngest daughter pushed aside for the moment. His mind raced through the myriad of reasons his Slayer might be yelling like that. Paper cut? Missed shoe sale? Rogue demon? Someone had stolen her clothes?

He burst into the room, and found the diminutive blonde crying in front of her laptop.

"What's wrong?" he asked, feeling a headache coming on.

"Dawnie," was all the Slayer managed, turning to face him, her eyes full of anguish. "She's hurt."

Two steps had him scanning the email on the machine, and he pulled off his glasses, polishing them hard. A tinkle of glass heralded the shatter of a lens, but he barely noticed. "Good Lord..."

"I have to go over there...I have to take care of this..." the blonde whispered, pacing the room.

"Yes, yes, of course. Xander and Willow can be spared from their duties, take them, too. They deserve a break in any case, and once you have Dawn back on her feet she can take you around Japan." He refused to consider the possibility that his youngest would not be back on her feet in no time.

Buffy's face lit up, and she gave him a hug. "Thank you," she whispered, before sitting back in front of her laptop and beginning to make arrangements.

End Chapter 21


	23. Chapter 22

itle: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.

Author's Notes: I am so sorry for how long this has taken. I've had a bad few months; boyfriend dumped me, chopped off the top of my finger, and landlord kicked me out of my flat...so I've been kind of busy with life. Sorry!!

Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

* * *

Dawn's house was empty and quiet. Her bed was unmade, there were clean dishes on the draining board, and tea things set out next to the kettle. Her clothes were still in the wardrobe, so she hadn't left yet, so far as he could tell. Her homework sat half-finished on the kitchen table...but she wasn't here.

Maybe she was with Tohru. It was a possibility that his girlfriend had been found before she finished packing, and Tohru would recognise the symptoms straight away.

But he couldn't go to see her now. It was early morning, and even if Tohru had gone patrolling, she'd be in bed by now. It would have to wait until after school. It wouldn't be too late, it couldn't be.

Clinging onto that frail hope, he made his way into the guest room, and went straight to sleep.

* * *

Kyo opened the door on the first knock, brows furrowing when he saw Momiji standing there. "Dawn isn't here," he said bluntly.

Momiji's shoulders drooped. "Oh. Is Tohru?" he asked. "I have something I need to tell her."

The orange haired youth's mouth twisted for a moment, then he pulled the door open. "You might as well come in," he said grumpily. "But don't distract her, she's making fish for dinner."

Ordinarily he would have perked up, and bounced into the kitchen, demanding to be included in Toh-ru's yummy feast. But this wasn't an ordinary circumstance, and he was far too worried about Dawn to bounce anywhere. Instead, he sedately followed Kyo, and smiled at Tohru's excited greeting.

"Momiji! I didn't know you were coming over! Hello!" Her teal eyes shone with genuine delight. "Would you like something to eat? There's some gingersnap cookies, or some onigiri, or...oh! I could make you something? Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Uh, yeah, that'd be nice," he said distractedly. "Tohru, have you seen Dawn?"

The brunette paused in the process of adding another piece of fish to the skillet in front of her. "No..." Her expression cleared. "But then, she might be doing homework. Have you checked her house?"

"Yes. I'm worried, Tohru. I stayed there last night, and she didn't come back."

Tohru frowned, sprinkling lemon juice and soy sauce over the fish. "She wasn't at school today, either. I presumed she wasn't well...but...if you haven't seen her..."

Silently, Momiji urged her to connect the dots. He knew Dawn would have told Tohru about her appointment with Akito, and he didn't want to spell it out. If he said it, then it was real. His girlfriend was truly gone.

"She...uh...I think she had an appointment yesterday," the girl said delicately, chewing on her bottom lip. She turned the fish over, on autopilot. "With Akito..."

"Hatori was there, too," Momiji put in grimly.

Tohru's eyes widened in panic, before she carefully schooled her features into a bright, vacuous expression. "I'm sure it's nothing!" she said unconvincingly.

"It's not," Momiji confirmed, his voice soft, and sadder than it had ever been. Even sadder than when he spoke of Mama and Momo. "Akito told me himself. She's had her memories wiped."

"NO!" Tohru dropped the bowl of soup she was carrying with a clash, sending hot broth over everyone's feet. She didn't even apologise, her eyes wide and bright with tears. "He can't! Not Dawn!" The salty drops spilled down her cheeks.

"DAMMIT! Is no one safe?!" Kyo punched the wall, then walked over to Tohru, grabbing a tissue and dabbing her eyes awkwardly. "Don't cry," he commanded roughly. "We'll fix this."'

"We can't," the rabbit said softly. "The memories are gone, it'd take a miracle to help her now."

"OH! I...I can't promise anything but..." Tohru bit her lip. "Kyo, clean up, **onegai**?" She raced from the room.

Mystified, the Kyo began to mop up the soup, while Momiji picked up the shards of crockery. What was she up to now?

* * *

Tohru couldn't seem to sit still all throughout dinner, and her attempts at dessert were patchy at best, involving the gingersnaps and half-melted vanilla ice-cream. She had to be asked three times to refill Shigure's teacup, which was very suspicious. Even the self-centred dog couldn't ignore such strange happenings.

"What's going on with my beautiful little flower?" he mock-sobbed. "She's forgotten all about me! Ah, it's tragic, I slave away day after day on my novella, trying to gain bacon and bread for the table, yet my bride cannot even keep my cup full!"

Absently, Tohru poured him more tea, not even apologising. Such a speech would generally have had her all flustered, but not right now. Momiji and Kyo exchanged glances over their ice cream. She had to be the worst secret keeper either boy had ever met. It was a wonder she'd managed to keep their secret, and her own, from her friends.

"Tohru, what's wrong?" Shigure asked again, this time more serious, and without the drama. The girl's lacklustre response was concerning.

"Mmm? Oh, nothing...I'm just thinking about our mathematics homework." Tohru smiled brightly, and got up. "Since everyone's finished, I'll get started on the dishes." She scooped up the plates quickly, and bustled into the kitchen. Soon the soft sound of dishes clinking against one another floated out.

"Hmmm...I wonder what could possibly be bothering our little flower. It certainly isn't maths," Shigure mused. He stood up, stretching. "Ah well! Mi will be here tomorrow, so I have to go put some files through the shredder. Cheerio!" He wandered back into the study.

"Well," Kyo said, "I guess we'd better fill in the rat."

Momiji nodded. "Whatever Tohru's doing can wait," he agreed seriously, once again displaying behaviour that was distinctly out of character. "Yuki might have some idea what to do. After all, he's dealt with this problem before."

End Chapter 22

**Onegai:** Please


	24. Chapter 23

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.

Author's Notes: I am so sorry for how long this has taken. I've had a bad few months; boyfriend dumped me, chopped off the top of my finger, and landlord kicked me out of my flat...so I've been kind of busy with life. Sorry!!

Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

* * *

Tohru nibbled on her lower lip as she laboriously checked her email, trying to make sure it was understandable. More than ever, she wished that Dawn were here...Dawn could write it, then it would be in perfect English, and it wouldn't shame anyone. She was so stupid! But then, this was the best she could do, and it was for Dawn, anyway. Hopefully, Miss Summers would take that into account when reading.

**To:**  
**From:**  
**Subject:** Dawn

_Dear Miss Summers,_

_I am sorry for writing to you, and disturbing your holiday, but I have a problem that is with Dawn._

_I do not know if you know this, but I work for the Sohma family. I clean one of the office buildings, and I also work for room and board at Shigure Sohma's house. Akito, the head of the Sohma family, recently decided that Dawn was getting too close and he has taken steps to remove her from the family._

_He has wiped her memories, Miss Summers, and now she is missing. Momiji says that she will be searching for her family. But he found her mobile phone still at her apartment, and now we cannot find her. We are all very worried, she is very close to the younger Sohmas, and we don't want to lose her._

_Please, if it would not be too much trouble, could you come over to Japan immediately? I am sure you have methods of tracing Dawn that we do not. And I am scared about what might happen to her. If her memories have been wiped, she no longer knows why she is here, and she will surely be very afraid._

_Yours truly,_

_Tohru Honda._

She clicked send and watched as the little message zoomed away. Within minutes, her mail icon blinked up. That was fast. Tohru clicked on the new message.

**To:**  
**From:**  
**Subject:** RE: Dawn

_Dear Tohru,_

_Please, call me Buffy. Miss Summers makes me feel old. We're already on our way. And Dawn is at Kaibara Hospital._

_-Buffy_

The Slayer's eyes filled with tears of relief, and fear. Dawn was in hospital; they knew where she was! But...why was she there?

Maybe Akito had hurt her! He'd hurt Rin badly enough that she needed to go to hospital. If he could do that to his own family, he certainly wouldn't care about someone he thought was trying to break them up.

She leapt to her feet. She had to find Kyo, Yuki and Momiji, possibly Haru, too! And tell Hana and Uo that she wouldn't be able to go to the mall with them tomorrow. If Dawn was in hospital, she wasn't going to leave her side!

* * *

It took them three days to fly from London to Tokyo. They were on a plane all night from London to Singapore, and then had to wait five hours for the connecting flight to Tokyo. Finally, at 7:15 two days later they were in Tokyo.

"I'm _so_ tired," Buffy whinged as they shuffled through customs. "Next time, you're making the travel arrangements, Wills."

"I only didn't this time because I need to conserve my energy," Willow reminded her. "Ooh, Buff, you need to put your guitar on the ramp-ey thing. How cute is it?! It's all space-agey!" She giggled happily.

"Xander, did you give her coffee while I slept?" Buffy accused.

"Just a bit. She was tired. I thought she should be awake for this."

"She's going to be up all day now," the blonde grumped.

"No jetlag for me, yay!" The witch practically bounced through the metal detectors, dancing from one foot to the other as she waited for the other two. "C'mon, c'mon, we haven't got all day! Ooh! Let's have breakfast somewhere!"

"I blame you for this," Buffy told him as they made their way to the baggage carousel. "We need to be at the hospital, Willow. No food."

"Poot." The redhead pouted. "I was looking forward to food."

"Food later. Hospital now. Can either of you speak Japanese?" It was really something that should have occurred to her earlier.

"I can speak some," Willow offered. "I specialise more in the dead languages, though." She smiled sheepishly.

"So long as you can speak enough to get us a car, I don't really care," Buffy rubbed at her temples. They were pounding from lack of sleep. "I'll check my mail again." She'd gotten an email from Dawn's Slayer, and it was concerning to say the least. Dawn had promised Giles that the Sohmas weren't any harm...if they'd stolen her baby sister's memories...The blonde's face hardened. Well, what she did to Ethan Rayne at Halloween would look like a picnic.

"**Ano...kuruma o katte kudasai? Sumimasen, nihongo o hanasemasen.**" Um...can I please rent a car? I'm sorry, I can't speak Japanese. Willow was saying awkwardly at the _1st For Car Rental_ booth.

The lady behind the desk beamed. "No, you are good!" she said in stilted English. "Here is the contract, we have copies in English, so you will be able to read."

"Oh! **domo arigatoo** uh...thank you." Willow bowed, and quickly filled out the forms, handing over her _Visa_ card and passport.

"How long will you need it?"

"Uh...two weeks? I'm not sure... **Eto-**"

"English is fine," the lady interrupted firmly, bowing. "Two weeks good. If you need to extend, call this number." She pointed to the paper. "Here are keys. The car will be brought around the front. Have a good day!"

"Thank you, you too," Willow babbled, scurrying back over to where Buffy, Xander, and the baggage sat. "Hospital now?" she asked.

Buffy nodded, closing her laptop. "I'll drive. Wills, I'd be grateful if you look up everything you can about the Sohma family on the way."

End Chapter 23

**Domo arigatoo**: Thank you

**Eto-**: Um-


	25. Chapter 24

Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.

Author's Notes: Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

* * *

Momiji and Tohru had barely left Dawn's side for the past two days, choosing to sleep in the hospital rather than go home to Shigure's house, or to Dawn's empty flat. They left only to shower and change their clothes, and one of them was there at all times, with Kyo and Yuki stopping by intermittently.

Uo and Hana also visited after school each day, bringing Tohru her homework and tales of what was going on at school. Fierce rumours were circulating as to Dawn's whereabouts, and how much time Tohru was spending absent. The most vicious pinned Dawn and Tohru as deviants on the run from the law, and had been started by none other than the Prince Yuki Fanclub. A few quiet words from Hana and not-so-quiet ones from Uo had quelled that rumour quickly enough.

It was odd to see Dawn lying there; her entire body still, bruises covering her body, and a cast on her arm. It was especially strange, though, when the covers concealed the bruises, to see her so motionless.

Dawn was always moving, even in class she'd tap her foot or fiddle with her hair. To see such a hyperactive girl turned into a statue frightened Momiji more than anything else in the world...more even than Kyo's monster form. More than Akito in one of his fiercest rages. More than Hatori's memory-wiping abilities. It scared him to see her without a smile on her face, to see those flawless features expressionless. He hated it, and he just wanted to grab her, and shake her awake.

But he couldn't so he hated the people who had done it to her. He hated Akito, and even Hatori to some extent. But the hatred for Akito was vicious and burning. It kept him from smiling, kept him from singing stupid songs, and eating sweets. He didn't want to eat anything.

Most of all, though, he didn't want anyone to hurt her more than she'd been hurt already. So when three adults spilled into the room and began yelling at him in a language he didn't understand, he was immediately wary. He knew it was English, he spoke a bit, but their accents were thick and annoying, and he couldn't seem to decipher what they were saying, except that it had to do with 'going away.' Tohru was changing at the moment, and he desperately wished she was here, wished he had the power of a Slayer behind him.

"I don't understand!" he said finally, leaping up into a guard position, like Master had taught them. If they were going to yell, he'd yell back. "Why didn't she let me go with her?! Why did she do it alone?! She always did things alone!"

The redhead stopped shouting, and gestured to the blonde woman and the dark-haired man that they should be quiet as well. Slowly, in halting Japanese, she spoke.

"Watchers...we are alone," she said. "We do not get to lean on others as much. We have to be impartial. And we have to love our friends and family just as much at the same time. It is hard." She bowed. "My name's Willow Rosenberg, and this is Xander Harris and Buffy Summers, Dawn's sister. It is nice to meet you. What is your name?"

Momiji relaxed. Dawn had told them all about Buffy, Willow and Xander. "Momiji Sohma."

Buffy, upon hearing the name 'Sohma', burst into indignant, angry yelling again.

"Sohma? Are you related to Akito Sohma?" Willow's tone was light, but the air seemed to crackle with electricity.

Momiji's face tightened. "I wish I wasn't," he said gruffly.

"Momiji!" Buffy cried, her face suddenly lighting up. She grabbed Willow's arm, and said something very quickly.

Momiji shook his head, even if he had been able to speak English well he wouldn't have caught it, she was talking so fast.

Willow smiled suddenly. "Oh, you're one of the people Tohru was talking about!" Her Japanese was becoming more fluid as the conversation went on.

"What do you mean?" Momiji asked.

"Tohru wrote us an email about Dawn. We already knew, the hospital emailed Buffy, but that's how she found out where Dawnie was. She just said Dawnie was missing."

"Oh." The rabbit couldn't believe it. For one thing, Tohru had actually managed to keep that part a secret. And for another, he couldn't believe she'd gotten the guts to do that. Not the girl who stuttered whenever the Prince Yuki Fanclub started snarling at her. She'd really changed, something that was evident from the fact that she'd skipped school to be by Dawn's bedside. Before Dawn...she'd never have considered it, not for anything.

His realisations were further highlighted when Tohru walked into the room. He hadn't noticed it really, but the past few weeks she'd started wearing her hair back in a ponytail instead of around her face. She still wore the White Day ribbons Yuki had given her, but she also wore jeans now, instead of skirts, and generally loose tops that were easy to move around in. On her feet she were sneakers, and she had a red baseball cap on.

"Oh!" Her hand fluttered to her throat, turquoise eyes widening. "I didn't realise we had visitors!"

"You know what, this is going to get annoying," Willow said. "I'm going to cast a translation spell, I don't want to spend ages trying to figure out what to say next." She said something in English, repeating herself, Momiji presumed, and Buffy and Xander began arguing with her.

Willow said something sharply, then spoke again in a different language. A breeze whipped her hair around her face, and Momiji felt his ears pop.

"There," the redhead panted, dropping into one of the hard plastic chairs. "It's done."

"Wills, you're not supposed to be draining yourself like this!" Buffy scolded. She wasn't speaking Japanese, but somehow Momiji could understand her.

"That's very useful," he said, impressed.

"Ooh, I can understand you now! Awesome!" The blonde American clapped her hands.

"Um...who are you?" Tohru asked, a bit confused.

"What, Dawnie didn't have pictures?" Xander looked surprised. "The girl who let Andrew photograph her every single day and saved an album from the sinkhole didn't show you any pictures?"

"No...I'm sorry, but she didn't. It was probably just an oversight, a lapse, she's been very busy and in a new country speaking a different language without any friends or family. Not to say that we aren't her friends! And she does have family, and they're very nice, I'm sure, even if she fights with her sister. But everyone fights with their siblings, just look at Yuki and Ayame, and they love one another very much, so I'm sure Dawn loves her sister very much too, and-"

Momiji had put his hand over her mouth. He'd seen Dawn do this whenever Tohru got too flustered, and it seemed to work pretty well, so he thought he'd try it.

"You must be Tohru," Buffy announced, smiling. "Dawnie told Giles you were a babbler. I'm Buffy Summers, her sister. This is Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg."

"OH!" Tohru smiled brilliantly. "That's wonderful, thank you so much for telling me where Dawn was I was so worried..." She bowed deeply. "It's such an honour to meet you..."

"You too, Tohru." Buffy sat down on the other plastic chair. "After this is all over we'll have to talk."

"Over?" Momiji asked, hope leaping into his chest. "You mean you can fix it?"

Willow, who'd been standing over Dawn's inert form, her eyes closed, nodded, slowing sinking back into the chair. "I can. It'll take some work, but it's doable. At least..." she hesitated. "Getting her out of the coma is doable. Problem is, for the memory spell, we need someone to kiss her...Someone who loves her with pure intentions."

"I'll do it," Buffy said confidently. "Unless it has to be amorous love?"

"No-o...but...well, it has to be a first kiss." Willow closed her eyes in pain. "It can be anywhere, but you can't have kissed her before, and that puts all of us out of the running, you know it does. Even Giles...he's kissed her on the forehead. And if the love isn't pure...her memories are gone forever."

"Are you sure?" Momiji asked, the hope dying. He knew he loved Dawn...but he couldn't risk it unless he was sure.

A delicate flush pinkened Willow's cheeks. "I have a lot of experience with memory spells," she said simply. "I'm sure."

"Momiji could do it!" Tohru said excitedly. "They've never kissed, I know, because Dawn was-" this time she covered her own mouth, going the colour of a tomato.

"Why would that matter?" Xander asked speculatively, his one eye sparkling.

"Xander, no," Buffy said sternly.

The dark-haired man pouted. "But...just the shovel speech?" he pleaded.

"No. Different culture, different rules."

"I'll need to get a few things before this spell," Willow interrupted the interesting, if confusing conversation. "So it'll have to wait a bit." She looked speculatively at Tohru and Momiji. "You two willing to wait here with her?"

"We have been the past two days," Tohru said eagerly. "So we certainly don't mind!"

Momiji bounced up. "I'm going to get cake, and flowers," he told them. "I want her to have something nice to look at when she wakes up!"

"Guess it'll just be you, Tohru," Buffy said, amused.

Momiji felt his cheeks go red, but didn't stop moving. Aside from anything else, he also wanted to shower and change. It wouldn't do for Dawn to wake up and see him in wrinkled clothes with stubble on his face. Not at all.

End Chapter 24


End file.
